Todd M. Siebert: U.S. defense industry behind Russian threat propoganda

Monday, 22 August 2016

U.S. defense industry behind Russian threat propoganda

If the U.S.’s foreign policy decisions ever seem a little odd, sometimes it helps to follow the money. A good example is the U.S., along with its NATO allies, continuing to irritate tensions with Russia.

A report published by Glen Greenwald’s The Intercept last week details how major defense contractors are gleefully reporting to investors that a “resurgent Russia” means big profits on the horizon.

From the report:

Retired Army Gen. Richard Cody, a vice president at L-3 Communications, the seventh largest U.S. defense contractor, explained to shareholders in December that the industry was faced with a historic opportunity. Following the end of the Cold War, Cody said, peace had “pretty much broken out all over the world,” with Russia in decline and NATO nations celebrating. “The Wall came down,” he said, and “all defense budgets went south.”

Now, Cody argued, Russia “is resurgent” around the world, putting pressure on U.S. allies. “Nations that belong to NATO are supposed to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense,” he said, according to a transcript of his remarks. “We know that uptick is coming and so we postured ourselves for it.”

Speaking to investors at a conference hosted by Credit Suisse in June, Stuart Bradie, the chief executive of KBR, a military contractor, discussed “opportunities in Europe,” highlighting the increase in defense spending by NATO countries in response to “what’s happening with Russia and the Ukraine.”

Now, if you read Ron Paul’s most recent column dealing with the current situation between Russian and Ukraine, you know the other side of that story. If you haven’t, it’s published in today’s edition.

The idea that Russia is “resurgent” and looking to take over the world, while very popular with the heads of major U.S. defense companies and the lobbyists and think-tank members they pay, doesn’t really square with reality.

For one, as The Intercept points out, the country certainly doesn’t look like the party looking for a fight:

Many experts are unconvinced that Russia poses a direct military threat. The Soviet Union’s military once stood at over 4 million soldiers, but today Russia has less than 1 million. NATO’s combined military budget vastly outranks Russia’s — with the U.S. alone outspending Russia on its military by $609 billion to less than $85 billion.

But that’s not all. Even some NATO members are pretty nervous about what rational observers see as western saber rattling along Russia’s borders.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier recently told media that the actions look more like “saber-rattling and warmongering” than assurance measures, as NATO has officially dubbed its moves in Eastern Europe.

“Whoever believes that a symbolic tank parade on the alliance’s eastern border will bring security is mistaken,” he said of NATO war games currently bringing the largest number of troops from member states, including the U.S., to the region since the Cold War.

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from PropagandaGuard https://propagandaguard.wordpress.com/2016/08/22/u-s-defense-industry-behind-russian-threat-propoganda/