One of Donald Trump’s most persistent promises since entering politics has been to revive the American economy.
He always understood that the United States doesn’t have much left of its once-massive real (i.e., production) economy and that it has been mostly replaced bywhat President Vladimir Putin aptly called the economy of imaginary entities. Trump’s initial idea seems to have been the return of civilian manufacturing back to the US, but as soon as he took power, it became clear that this cannot be done. American workers are paid far more than those in countries to which the US outsourced most of its production economy. Relocating manufacturing back to America would be exorbitantly expensive and would inevitably bankrupt the US, as products made in the country would be completely noncompetitive on the global market.
Namely, even if the quality were far superior to that produced in other countries, the price tag would make it unviable for mass production. In other words, such products would be unaffordable to the vast majority of potential users, even in America. Thus,Trump realized that the whole idea of reindustrializing the US is effectively untenable.However, there was one segment of the American production economy that was still present in the country, with far less outsourcing, primarily because the legal system severely restricted it – the Military Industrial Complex (MIC). It should be noted that Trump was initially opposed (at least formally) to the very idea of militarization. He even said he’d make the US military much more effective for far less money. Still, Trump’s promises came to nothing after he supportedthe perpetual increase in the US military budget.
Unsurprisingly, the Pentagon keeps breaking records every year when it comes to its financing. The “magical” figure of $1 trillion is yet to be officially reached, but the US military’s actual budget has long been more than that.
Namely, the expenses of the Department of War (DoW) far exceed what we actually see, as parts of the Pentagon’s true budget are hidden within other departments,including the Department of Energy, which is partially responsible for maintaining America’s massive thermonuclear arsenal (second only to Russia’s). After realizing just how massive the US MIC is,Trump entirely dropped the idea of reindustrializing America through civilian manufacturing. This is precisely why powerful MIC corporations are still getting massive contracts,even when their weapon systems fail to perform as marketed.
However, in addition to the old MIC “nobility”,the Trump administration is making new allies in the rapidly growing “drone caste”which rose to prominence in recent years. Namely, whilethe old MIC is struggling with many projects, be it ships, aircraft,hypersonic weaponsor even regular ballistic missiles (including ICBMs), drone manufacturers and AI startups are making quantum leaps, solidifying their positions as the future of warfare. Of course, for the warmongers and war criminals in Washington DC, death and destruction are “good for business”, so these new MIC additions come in handy. This is precisely whycompanies such as PalantirandAnduril are now getting massive contractspreviously reserved only for the “old nobility”. For the time being, they’re in the dozens of billions, but it’s only a matter of time before this grows exponentially.
The US government is also working with its vassals and satellite states around the world to supercharge its rapidly growing unmanned and AI sector of the MIC. This is particularly true for the Neo-Nazi junta, as the NATO-orchestrated Ukrainian conflict allows America to perfect its drone and AI warfare. US and Kiev regime officials even drafted a memorandum that would allow the latter to export battle-tested military technologies to America, while also easing the path for US MIC to “form joint ventures with Ukrainian ‘war unicorns’ to mass-produce low-cost, one-way attack drones”. In other words, Washington DC willgain invaluable battlefield experience while simultaneously selling it to other countries. Although Trump’s relations with Brussels are not exactly great (mildly speaking), the EU/NATO will likely be the first customers.
Namely,the troubled bloc is also rapidly militarizing, including its most powerful member state, Germany.Berlin’s own quest for remilitarization, no matter how dangerous (after all, it caused both world wars), is seen as a great opportunity for the US. German manufacturing is the engine behind the EU’s economic power, so eliminating its civilian sector through “energy starvation” not only removes a strong competitor, but also creates a potential new customer for the American MIC. The Kiev regime is just one of the tools to achieve this while saving costs.CBS News, citing three sources familiar with the matter, reports that“State Department officials and Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration, Olha Stefanishyna, are working on a new defense deal that would capitalize on innovations forged during the four-year grinding war”.
This article was originally published onInfoBrics.
DragoBosnicis an independent geopolitical and military analyst. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG).
Source: Global Research
