United States of America’s military budget is equal to the collective military budgets of Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, and Cuba.
The defense budget of apparent enemies should not be the decisive factor for America’s military spending.
US officials denounce the intentions of other nations to develop nuclear weapons while their own country is not ready to decrease its arsenal.
America’s decision of withdrawing troops from Europe could communicate a wrong message to the apparent enemies.
Washington rules are not scrapped because there are some vested interests.
Among the people who benefit from Washington, rules are politicians, administrators, corporate bigwigs, military personnel, scholars, and investigating groups.
Such benefits are not necessarily in cash but can also be in the form of favors.
The fraudulent practices have made Washington one of the most corrupt places in the world.
There is not even the slightest possibility of such practices being stopped within the near future, albeit with the collapse of both military and economy.
Instead of learning a lesson, the concerned people will assign blames to each other and allocate more funds towards the military budget.
This particular trend prevalent among American politicians and other concerned people is evident from President Obama’s directions which, despite the financial crisis of 2008, do not allow any decrease in funds for national security.
American principles are based on the supposition that the country is unique and can mold the world in whichever manner they desire.
The incidents that happened over the past couple of years don’t support this idea.
American claims of being a peace-loving country are refuted by incidents such as the bombing of Hiroshima, mass torture, and assassination plots.
Such incidents have refuted the power and economic excellence of America.
America’s history, since World War II, has been a mix of great acumen, foolishness, sightlessness, commendable accomplishments, and irresponsible judgments.
Future policies of America should be formulated while considering the implications and global rebellion.
America’s annual expenditure of maintaining its armed forces runs into billions of dollars.
The money is also used to fund election campaigns and is distributed among constituencies by way of lucrative contracts.
Retired military personnel is offered well-paid jobs in weapons manufacturing units and/or consulting firms that are normally referred to as ‘Beltway Bandits’.
In the past, a feeling of pride of Americans led them to follow John Winthrop’s idea of creating a ‘city upon a hill’ (about Massachusetts Bay Colony).
President Washington also advised Americans to follow an exceptional path to excellence that had traits of ‘justice and benevolence’.
European-style imperialism started planting its roots in America and gradually its principles started losing their impact.
America participated in World War I at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson.
Both World Wars further disgraced American principles of being benevolent and a peace-loving nation.
Several people such as George Kennan, William Fulbright, Christopher Lasch, and Martin Luther King criticized the American government for adopting an anti-peace and apartheid approach in its policies.
Senator Fulbright refuted an earlier idea that to ascertain its wellbeing America needed to interfere in the affairs of other nations.
References
Bacevich, A. J. (2010). Washington rules: America’s path to permanent war. Metropolitan Books.