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The Trillion-Dollar War Machine That Barreled Toward Iran: Author William Hartung explains why the United States seems perpetually drawn into conflict.
A hammer is always looking for a nail. We’ve grown accustomed to military projection, to our own countries demise. We’ve outsourced our jobs, centralized our wealth to a handful of people, and our government is run by people funded by billionaires or foreign governments.
I don’t see a way we come back from this without a real political upheaval. Like reconstruction plus monopoly busting.
"We dedicated $8 trillion to the post-9/11 wars. We could have decarbonized our whole electric grid. They could have canceled all the student loan debt."
>Donald Trump campaigned against “endless wars.” Yet in late February, he launched a war against Iran that has already killed over one thousand people, including at least 175 in a strike on a girls’ elementary school. It is also burning through staggering sums of public money. Early estimates suggest the war could cost taxpayers between $1 billion to $2 billion a day. The first two days of strikes alone consumed $5.6 billion in munitions, raising alarm among lawmakers about depleted stockpiles and the mounting financial toll of another Middle Eastern war with no end in sight.
>For decades, the United States has pursued “security” with bombs, missiles, and Pentagon budget increases, often with disastrous results. In The Trillion Dollar War Machine, foreign policy analysts William Hartung and Ben Freeman argue that this pattern is the result of a vast, entrenched military-industrial complex that has grown richer, more politically powerful, and more deeply embedded in American life over time. Since World War II, the U.S. has built a sprawling permanent war economy that links weapons manufacturers, lobbyists, think tanks, politicians, Hollywood, universities, the video game industry, and, increasingly, Silicon Valley tech companies. The result, Hartung and Freeman contend, is a system that pushes the country toward war while draining resources from urgent needs at home.
>At a moment when the United States once again finds itself in a costly and escalating conflict in the Middle East, their argument carries renewed urgency. During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, Hartung and I spoke about who stands to profit from a war with Iran, how militarism has seeped into American politics and culture, and what it would take to build something like a peace movement powerful enough to confront it.
Whatever, don't liken that shit to toys even with /s . It's destructive. I don't know where you learned that. Would you say something sarcastic at a funeral?
Assuming you aren't a rage bait bot - please consider that now is not the time to focus on past grievances. Now is the time to find new allies, not make enemies.
ked_man | an hour ago
A hammer is always looking for a nail. We’ve grown accustomed to military projection, to our own countries demise. We’ve outsourced our jobs, centralized our wealth to a handful of people, and our government is run by people funded by billionaires or foreign governments.
I don’t see a way we come back from this without a real political upheaval. Like reconstruction plus monopoly busting.
jawdirk | an hour ago
It's worse than that. For every munition fired, somebody is getting a little wealthier.
[OP] thenewrepublic | 3 hours ago
"We dedicated $8 trillion to the post-9/11 wars. We could have decarbonized our whole electric grid. They could have canceled all the student loan debt."
From the article:
>Donald Trump campaigned against “endless wars.” Yet in late February, he launched a war against Iran that has already killed over one thousand people, including at least 175 in a strike on a girls’ elementary school. It is also burning through staggering sums of public money. Early estimates suggest the war could cost taxpayers between $1 billion to $2 billion a day. The first two days of strikes alone consumed $5.6 billion in munitions, raising alarm among lawmakers about depleted stockpiles and the mounting financial toll of another Middle Eastern war with no end in sight.
>For decades, the United States has pursued “security” with bombs, missiles, and Pentagon budget increases, often with disastrous results. In The Trillion Dollar War Machine, foreign policy analysts William Hartung and Ben Freeman argue that this pattern is the result of a vast, entrenched military-industrial complex that has grown richer, more politically powerful, and more deeply embedded in American life over time. Since World War II, the U.S. has built a sprawling permanent war economy that links weapons manufacturers, lobbyists, think tanks, politicians, Hollywood, universities, the video game industry, and, increasingly, Silicon Valley tech companies. The result, Hartung and Freeman contend, is a system that pushes the country toward war while draining resources from urgent needs at home.
>At a moment when the United States once again finds itself in a costly and escalating conflict in the Middle East, their argument carries renewed urgency. During our conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity, Hartung and I spoke about who stands to profit from a war with Iran, how militarism has seeped into American politics and culture, and what it would take to build something like a peace movement powerful enough to confront it.
>...
pajudd | 2 hours ago
If you got the toys - you got to play with them
jawdirk | an hour ago
It's not toys, people are fucking dying.
pajudd | an hour ago
/s sarcasm is lost on so many people - smh
jawdirk | an hour ago
Whatever, don't liken that shit to toys even with /s . It's destructive. I don't know where you learned that. Would you say something sarcastic at a funeral?
LeoKitCat | 54 minutes ago
Depends on who died
jawdirk | 12 minutes ago
Yeah? How about if it was the funeral of an innocent Iranian walking down the street?
NewMidwest | an hour ago
What brought is here is Trump.
What brought us Trump were voters who did something other than vote for Harris in 2024.
The fault is with people who couldn’t be bothered to do the right thing.
ShockinglyAccurate | 37 minutes ago
Assuming you aren't a rage bait bot - please consider that now is not the time to focus on past grievances. Now is the time to find new allies, not make enemies.