The Big Picture
Despite the superficial differences that get all the press, the majority, and especially the powers that be, of both the Democratic and Republican parties are enthusiastically behind the continuing build up of the US war machine.
The commitment to a unipolar world, dominated by the force of US arms is a given, rather than an object of discussion.
This domination of the nation's discourse means that matters that otherwise might seem important are discussed only on the fringes. For example, the cost of this unchallenged build up is hardly mentioned. Of course that is made easier by the fragmentation of spending bills, the Iraq/Afghanistan wars are funded outside the defense budget, as is the mushrooming intelligence budget.
Robert Dreyfuss, over at the new-look TomDispatch, puts together some numbers and some projections about defense spending and the problems of Financing the Imperial Armed Forces.
The steps and counter-steps on the world stage are the subject of M K Bhadrakumar's article at the Asia Times, US missiles hit Russia where it hurts. As the relentless efforts of the US establishment to relegate Russia to third-world status continue, the installation of US missiles and radar in Eastern Europe is just one of the steps in the attempt to restart the Cold War, and once again triumph. The specter of a first-strike capability by the US is the basis of a dangerous tension that is sure to grow unless the US rethinks its policies, and there is no one in the political establishment that has the slightest intention of doing that.
Russia is not laying down for these efforts, and this is why Putin is no longer presented as a friend, but rather as an anti-democratic (whatever that means), assassinating, scheming child of the Kremlin.
So we've got to expect things to continue to move in the direction of a ratcheting up of global tensions. The controlling interests of the US economy, and thus US policy, are firmly established on a path to greater military spending and more energetic efforts to control everyone not aligned with their interests. The future does not bode well for us or our children.
The commitment to a unipolar world, dominated by the force of US arms is a given, rather than an object of discussion.
This domination of the nation's discourse means that matters that otherwise might seem important are discussed only on the fringes. For example, the cost of this unchallenged build up is hardly mentioned. Of course that is made easier by the fragmentation of spending bills, the Iraq/Afghanistan wars are funded outside the defense budget, as is the mushrooming intelligence budget.
Robert Dreyfuss, over at the new-look TomDispatch, puts together some numbers and some projections about defense spending and the problems of Financing the Imperial Armed Forces.
The steps and counter-steps on the world stage are the subject of M K Bhadrakumar's article at the Asia Times, US missiles hit Russia where it hurts. As the relentless efforts of the US establishment to relegate Russia to third-world status continue, the installation of US missiles and radar in Eastern Europe is just one of the steps in the attempt to restart the Cold War, and once again triumph. The specter of a first-strike capability by the US is the basis of a dangerous tension that is sure to grow unless the US rethinks its policies, and there is no one in the political establishment that has the slightest intention of doing that.
Russia is not laying down for these efforts, and this is why Putin is no longer presented as a friend, but rather as an anti-democratic (whatever that means), assassinating, scheming child of the Kremlin.
So we've got to expect things to continue to move in the direction of a ratcheting up of global tensions. The controlling interests of the US economy, and thus US policy, are firmly established on a path to greater military spending and more energetic efforts to control everyone not aligned with their interests. The future does not bode well for us or our children.
posted by Dick Durata at 4:49 PM
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