Stephen Lendman

America invents threats to justify outsized military budgets, its global empire of bases and permanent war policy - ravaging and destroying one country after another.

In testimony before Senate Armed Services Committee members, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter urged greater military spending than already, requesting $582.7 billion - $523.9 billion for the basic budget plus another $58.8 billion for overseas contingency operations, without mentioning regular supplementary add-ons, adding billions of dollars more, along with huge amounts for black budgets not disclosed. America’s only enemies are ones it invents. Carter lied to Congress, calling Russia America’s top threat, followed by China, North Korea, Iran and ISIS.

“The first such challenge is in Europe,” he claimed, “where we’re taking a strong and balanced approach to deter (nonexistent) Russian aggression.”

“We haven’t had to devote a significant portion of our defense investment to this possibility for 25 years, and while I wish it were otherwise, now we do.”

“Today’s security environment is dramatically different from the last 25, requiring new ways of investing and operating.”

Carter’s request for “50% more than last year” to combat ISIS belies America’s support for the scourge it invented and supports.

No nation is at war with America. None threaten US security. Carter saying “(w)e…have…to ensure that anyone who starts a conflict with us will regret doing so” ignores reality.

It hasn’t happened in 75 years. No nation anywhere threatens America now. Claiming otherwise is a bald-faced lie - combining fear-mongering with spending trillions of dollars needed for vital domestic needs, ignored for warmaking.

Carter hyping nonexistent “Russian aggression,” China “behaving aggressively,” Iran demonstrating “reckless and destabilizing behavior,” and North Korea posing a regional security and stability threat is pure rubbish - Big Lies pushing the nonexistent need for out-of-control military spending, enormous amounts going for naked aggression against countries threatening no others.

Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman General Igor Konashenkov dismissed Carter’s posturing, calling it “not a thing to be impressed by.”

“The reason is simple - the (annual) discussion of the (US) military budget in Congress for the next year.”

The nonexistent “ ‘Russian threat’ has been the best-selling threat delivered by the Pentagon not only to Congress, but also to NATO partners since the middle of the previous century.”

Pentagon commanders hype it repeatedly, the best way they’re able to get whatever they want, including for boondoggle projects over the years wasting trillions of dollars. So-called “defense spending” is notorious for waste, fraud and abuse.

Sergey Lavrov earlier blasted “the worldview of (America claiming) its right to use force arbitrarily regardless of UN Security Council resolutions or other” legal justification.

America’s permanent war agenda needs invented enemies. Challenging Russia or China militarily is madness - risking humanity ending WW III.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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