"Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Pentagon (the U.S. Department of Defense), K Street (the gathering place of Washington lobby companies), the military industry, and the entire Capitol have been quietly celebrating with champagne. And taxpayers will pay for the party for a long time. ”
This vivid text comes from Franklin Spiny's blog post. He worked in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense for 26 years and was well versed in the "routines" of the U.S. military-industrial-congressional complex. In a recent video interview with a Xinhua reporter, he pointed out that the US military-industrial complex uses this Russian-Ukrainian conflict to show fear of Russia, aiming to create opportunities for a new round of arms expenditure, and will also make long-term profits from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and other regional conflicts, but it will cause huge trauma to the US economy.
"The Ministry of Defense is led by the nose by capital"
The U.S. military-industrial complex refers to interest groups formed by the military, military industry enterprises, and Congress colluding with each other.
In an article entitled "How Drugs of Defense Spending Destroyed rational national plans" in early March, Spiny wrote that over the past 30 years, the US military-industrial complex has colluded with the US media, think tanks, academics, and intelligence agencies, and the entire chain of interests will be profitable in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
(Screenshot of franklin Spinney's article webpage)
He pointed out that the fear effect caused by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is being manipulated as the emotional cornerstone for launching a "new Cold War" in the 21st century, and the United States wantsonly creates tensions, manipulates fear, and demonizes other countries in order to continue to inflate the defense budget in the future.
In an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency, Spiny said that the US Department of Defense was led by the nose by capital. The enormous impact of the military-industrial complex on U.S. foreign policy is often overlooked by academia and the media. The military-industrial complex first influences key constituencies through the economy and jobs, which in turn sway politicians' claims, while manipulating voter sentiment by demonizing opponents and exaggerating security threats.
"The demonization of others should stop"
Spinner stressed to reporters that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict is the result of political manipulation, and the US military-industrial complex should be responsible for the outbreak of this conflict.
This is an empty street in Kiev, Ukraine, taken in the early morning of February 27, 2022. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Dongxu
He analyzed that after the end of the Cold War, the United States violated NATO's commitment not to expand eastward and planned a series of color revolutions; NATO bombed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the United States deployed the land-based "Aegis" anti-missile system, and the United States withdrew from the "Intergovernmental Nuclear Forces Treaty." All these moves directly threatened Russia's national survival and constantly squeezed Russia's strategic space.
Why? In an interview, Spiny analyzed that the nature of the US military-industrial complex determines that it needs enemies, so it always has the motivation to find new enemies around the world, which is the only logical reason for the United States to violate NATO's commitment not to expand eastward and ignore Russia's legitimate security concerns.
This is the Pentagon, where the Department of Defense is located, photographed in Arlington, Virginia, on Aug. 3, 2021. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie
As early as the 1990s, for example, the U.S. military-industrial company Lockheed Martin led the formation of a lobbying organization to promote NATO's eastward expansion, the NATO Enlargement Committee.
"If the United States says that NATO will not expand eastward, NATO will not expand eastward." He said.
The former Pentagon official warned that the massive arms sales by the U.S. military-industrial complex would only exacerbate tensions and would be of no benefit to world peace and security. He called on the U.S. government to change course and actively safeguard world peace, and "foreign policymakers should face up to the legitimate demands of other countries and stop blindly demonizing other countries."
"Inflicting enormous trauma on the U.S. economy"
Spinner used his own experience as a young man to expose the corruption of the U.S. military-industrial complex. In 1970, as a low-ranking officer in the U.S. Air Force, Spinner discovered and exposed a problem with a contract company responsible for military contracts, and as a result, he himself was threatened by the contract company. Although he eventually reported and demanded cancellation of the contract, the contract company soon became a U.S. military partner again, and the company is now responsible for military contracts worth up to $50 million a year.
Over the years, Spiny has also repeatedly exposed the U.S. Department of Defense at congressional hearings about the need for a significant increase in defense spending.
A woman walks near the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on March 12, 2022. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie
Spiny believes that the huge influence of the US military-industrial complex makes it impossible for the United States to formulate policies to maintain world peace, and also encourages the parasitic behavior of the military industry to reject competition and power rent-seeking, breeding corruption, and making the US economic competitiveness decline year by year.
"Relying on the military industry has reduced the productivity and competitiveness of the U.S. economy, and as competitiveness declines, we can only continue to rely on the military industry to provide jobs, and as a result, we accuse others of unfair competition." Spinner described this vicious circle this way: "Obviously we lift a stone and drop it on our own feet, and we should not blame others, only ourselves." ”
Column Editor-in-Chief: Gu Wanquan Text Editor: Lu Xiaochuan Caption Source: Figureworm Creative Image Editor: Yong Kai
Source: Author: Xinhua International Headlines