House Authorizes Funding to Deter Russia in Europe

No Russian threat exists – not against America, European countries or any others.

Yet Congress authorizes billions of dollars annually to counter a nonexistent threat.

On Tuesday, the House passed FY 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includes $4.6 billion for the so-called European Deterrence Initiative – enhancing America’s military capability on the continent, pretending it’s to counter a Russian threat – nowhere to be found anywhere.

Around $100 million is for increasing the military capabilities of Baltic countries. Another $58 million is allocated in response to Russia’s nonexistent INF Treaty violations – Washington committing breaches, not Moscow.

Around $350 million is for US-installed Kiev putschists – its corrupt officials siphoning off millions of dollars, stashing them offshore in tax havens – the way earlier US funds were stolen.

The House measure authorizes $700 billion for FY 2018 overall – less than half what America spends for militarism, aggressive wars, worldwide subversion, and related activities, much hidden in black budgets, amounts spent kept secret.

Senate action on NDAA remains unfinished business. Passage by both houses and enactment by the president is rubber-stamp – at a time America’s only enemies are invented ones, no real ones.

Since 2001 alone, Washington spent $5.6 trillion on wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan, according to a Brown University Watson Institute of International and Public Affairs study – along with another $4.3 trillion on Homeland Security, Defense and Veterans Affairs spending.

The Pentagon lied, claiming only $1.52 trillion was spent for FYs 2001 through budgeted 2018 expenditures. The cost of militarism, warmaking and related activities is obscenely high.

According to the study, “(b)y 2056, a conservative estimate is that interest costs will be about $8 trillion unless the US changes the way that it pays for the wars.”

“Although it is unlikely, Congress could decide to increase taxes or sell large numbers of war bonds rather than continue to pay for the wars through borrowing.”

War or any other bonds are another form of borrowing. Key is ending wars of aggression, downsizing the military, dismantling America’s empire of bases, and waging peace.

A national revolution is needed to accomplish this objective. Nothing else can work.

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