Military spending, collapse of US empire

[Joanne98]

Run time: 06:41 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIHOP4I3Ovo   Posted on YouTube: November 13, 2010 By YouTube Member: RTAmerica Views on YouTube: 2099   Posted on DU: November 14, 2010 By DU Member: Joanne98 Views on DU: 1110

 
The military industrial complex continues to rev its engine even as the US economy continues to struggle. Pro-defense Republicans are already shouting to use their party's newfound legislative power to boost the Pentagon budget. Paul Craig Roberts points out that the government only cares about the military industrial complex and lacks compassion for its people.

[elocs]

1. Military spending will collapse the American empire.

All empires end, so will this one.

[rocks911]

2. The definitive explanation

of the mess we are in and the only person I've heard voice it so plainly.

[Selatius]

3. I hate to say, but I fear we're fighting against the tide of history.

It's difficult to make a regime let go of its empire without costly consequences. Typically, the regime is forced to give it up. It rarely surrenders its empire willingly.

[shotten99]

4. Russia Today = Putin mouthpiece

Don't take their reporting seriously.
They'd embarrass Faux with the garbage they call "news".

[Bullet1987]

9. Maybe...maybe not. They have Americans working for them

it's not like it's all Russians. You also can't argue with some of their stories such as this one.

[social_critic]

10. Who cares?

I am GODDAM TIRED of the way the Military Industrial Complex uses Russia as the boogey man. The government, all of it, is full of spineless bags of roach dung. They are ALL, democrats and Republicans, brainwashed morons. We ARE the back guys. Obama is failing miserably to put an end to these imperial wars. And all the left wing media is covering it up because a lot of the warmongering we see, the invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan, and the other missions are meant to help others. I won't even mention who they are because Democratic Underground, just like everybody else, covers up the ugly truth, and they are, in their own subtle way, aiding and abetting these wars. The only progressive blog where they don't pull punches is Common Dreams, and the only right wing-libertarian site where they give us a part of the truth is antiwar.com. Everything else is muzzled, controlled, and the truth is silenced.

[soryang]

5. Spot on!

Roberts is published regularly on counterpunch.com. Roberts and Michael Hudson can't get on mainstream media so they end up on RT.

RT is being carried on my basic cable tv occasionally. I think it is one of the few ways to get uncensored news and commentary on televion.

[colsohlibgal]

6. Eisenhower Saw This Coming

In his farewell address to the nation just before leaving office, January 1961:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y06NSBBRtY

Old Ike nailed it. BTW it seems like presidents who have actually been in a war tend to try not to get into new ones as opposed to a draft dodger like Dubya.

I think it bears repeating that this guy was in the Reagan administration. That's how far right the political baseline has moved.

Military spending is the elephant in the room but gets no play in the corporate media. Sadly Roberts may be correct in saying that the perpetual wars will stop when other countries quit financing it.

[briteleaf]

7. Military spending is the hole in our economic bucket

We don't need to create jobs, developer alternate energy sources, improve our pathetic educational system or continue medicare. Think of those poor folks at Halliburton and Black water. They depend on us. We don't need health care for americans, we need to continue the 2 longest (completely unjustifiable) wars in our history and the thousands of military installations that we pay to maintain worldwide. We don't need to spend money to make infrastructure improvements in america when we could be buying more and better weaponry instead. High speed rail transportation? Nah, those bases in Germany and Spain are crucial.
Will we all finally be safe from the boogie man when we are homeless and starving?

[ProudDad]

8. Kick

this is important stuff!

[jimmil]

11. This reply may or may not fit in here but.....

It seems that since the Reagan administration came to power no one could say anything other than high praises for the military. I am not anti-military, having served my time, but I am also not this gung-ho military is perfect shit that I see on just about every board. You cannot say anything bad about the military now. The military administration is made up of largely civilians and they are just as fallible as a civilian working for the IRS or Social Security administration. However, say something like we don't need to have a fighter jet costing $100 mil a copy and you are instantly jumped on being called the usual communist, liberal, gay, whatever the current slam the right wing has. If I remember my time there were people in the military just as fucked up as people are anywhere. With such power as the military establishment has now mainly because of everyone should be scared because they hate our freedoms they have a pocket book that has no bounds. Until the US is bankrupt they will not stop on their own accord.