The United States uses scare tactics to blame Russia and China for its own war preparations, says American political analyst Dennis Etler, because “the US economy has become totally militarized.”
Etler, a former professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, made the remarks in an interview with Press TV on Thursday while commenting on a report which has warned that the United States runs the risk of losing a military confrontation with China or Russia.
A US Congress-mandated panel of bipartisan experts released its findings on Wednesday. Their report praised the administration of President Donald Trump for focusing more on Russia and China but it claimed that Trump’s new National Defense Strategy is insufficiently resourced.
"The (National Defense Strategy) too often rests on questionable assumptions and weak analysis, and it leaves unanswered critical questions regarding how the United States will meet the challenges of a more dangerous world," the report said.
This is while the Trump administration has authorized the US Department of Defense to invest around $717 billion into military strategies that will target Russia and China.
Trump has said the budget is aimed at revitalizing the US military, one of his key campaign promises.
“The US is sounding the alert that it is in danger of falling behind both Russia and China in war preparedness. But, the question may be asked, who is the protagonist and who has thrown the first punch?” Professor Etler asked.
“It is the US that intervenes in and invades one country after another with impunity. It is the US which stations its troops along the borders of its adversaries, not vice versa. It is the US that seeks full spectrum dominance and global hegemony, not Russia, China nor Iran,” he added.
“How many times does it have to be repeated? It is fully documented that the US spent billions of dollars to destabilize Ukraine, a former ally of Russia, in order to impose a Quisling regime in Kiev that directly threatened Russia’s vital national interests in the Black Sea. Prior to that the US reneged on pledges to the Russians that NATO would not expand to its borders. Russia, which has been invaded from the West three times in the last two centuries cannot bit respond to such provocative actions,” the analyst said.
“The same applies to China which has had two major wars initiated by the US with the expressed intent to contain it, on her borders. China likewise, has been invaded by both Western forces and Japan many times over the last two centuries. Now that it has regained its historic position as a leading world power China has vowed that it will never again be subject to the depredations of Western imperialism headed today by the US,” he continued.
“Both in Europe and Asia the US inherited the mantle of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan respectively. Both Russia and China bore the brunt of their vicious drives for world domination, each suffering more than 20 million deaths during their wars against fascism and militarism. If any two nations are justified in having a vigorous defense capability they are Russia and China,” he explained.
“As regards the third major target of US imperialism, Iran, it is again the US that threatens it, not vice versa. It is the US which has supported the Israelis in their assault against Palestine and waged war in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan in order to isolate and contain Iran,” he said.
“Neither Russia, China nor Iran threaten the US. As major powers and civilizational states they only seek their rightful place in the world order. For all three peace and security are of prime importance so they can build their countries and meet their people’s needs. But the US insists are imposing its will on the whole world and will brook no opposition in doing so,” he stated.
“Ever since the end of WW2 from which the US emerged unscathed, it has attempted to impose its will across the globe. After the collapse of the Soviet Union and its allies the US thought they had finally succeeded in doing so. But in order to do so the US has to deploy its military throughout the world to insure its imperial rule. As a result the US economy has become totally militarized with hundreds of billions of dollars spent on war and war preparations. In order to sustain itself, like the drug addicts that infest it, the US has to constantly increase its dose of military spending and seek new enemies to confront,” the commentator said.
“Now, after spending unprecedented amounts of money on its military, far outstripping any other nation or combination thereof, it cries that it needs more funds to confront enemies of its own making. But history has shown that where there is oppression there is resistance and the people of the world have shown that they will not allow any one power to dominate them,” he concluded.