The West really doesn't like it, when their destructive order breaks down. NATO's expansion to the East, color revolutions, sanctions against “disobedient countries” and forcing other states to choose a side are a good evidence of it. Since the Cold War, the US has been acting as a schemer, a gray cardinal constantly looking for external enemies and profiting from the fires of war.
To begin with, it should be noted that representatives of the US military-industrial complex lobbied for NATO expansion. And we remember that shareholders in the US military-industrial complex include congressmen, senators, ministers, or at least their wives. In other words, the brighter are the flames of the conflict in Ukraine, the more weapons Europe gives away, the richer the American defense industry and its shareholders become. The instigators of the crisis in Ukraine are described in Ekaterina Tikhomirova's project.
The confrontation between Ukraine and Russia "makes champagne corks fly out in the Pentagon, on K Street, in the defense industry and in all the halls of Congress," a former Pentagon military analyst wrote most recently. Well, you can't even argue here...
Iraq
120 military operations were held by the US over the past 70 years. How many other wars has it unleashed? And no, it is not important for the United States to win the wars, this is a secondary task. But they make a very different kind of profit: American warmongers feed on bloody turbulence in other countries.
Yugoslavia, 1999
In fact, this is a specific national business, primarily for major monopolies and political elites. Any military action causes a powerful flow of military orders. The export of weapons imposed on allies and domestic production in the military-industrial complex have become an impressive part of the economy.
They are the five richest arms traders in the world. All these concerns are American. They also perform not only government defense contracts from the Pentagon, but also foreign contracts from NATO. In other words, all defense budgets, which have been so thoroughly inflated in recent years, are in the pockets of these five concerns. They produce Stingers, Javelins, and HIMARS so favored by Ukraine. Planes and tanks are made for Poland, and all-terrain vehicles for Lithuania. In fact, the syndicate of conflict speculators sits at the very top of the US government and lobbies for the interests of gunsmiths. The armed Five's boards of directors and shareholders include former and current defense ministers, senators and secretaries of state, as well as congressmen.
Tulsi Gabbard, US House of Representatives:
Let's actually take a look at what underlies what motivates the decisions our leaders make. Unfortunately, Democrats, Republicans, mainstream media, and Washington's elite are essentially in the pocket of the military-industrial complex. And instead of being concerned about the interests of the American people, our national security, our country, they see only numbers on dollars, when they look at Ukraine. They see how they can fill their pockets.
So, let’s get to the details. The current US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, is a former member of the board of directors of Raytheon Technologies, a major Pentagon contractor, and a major shareholder in the giant. Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is also a former top manager. By the way, Secretary of State Blinken, like Pentagon Chief Austin, were co-owning partners for Pine Island Capital Partners, which makes money by investing in military-industrial enterprises complex. American politicians fuel wars around the world, while the MIC, whose shares are owned by these same politicians or their wives, benefits from it.
Afghanistan
For example, the leading US defense contractors generated more than $2 trillion in revenue during the US conflict with Afghanistan. In other words, war is beneficial to them, earning millions from it.
And you know what's interesting. As soon as the Ukrainian conflict began, back in February and March, when a ghostly peace was looming and the sides were sitting at the negotiating table, almost two dozen American congressmen invested in shares of major military-industrial companies. The total amount of transactions was almost $8 million. And the peaceful settlement burst like a soap bubble. Weapons have reached Ukraine, and the brighter the conflict flares up, the more money shareholders earn.
A man comments behind the scenes that he is now flying over an indoor market, one missile has been shot down.
All companies that produce weapons, combat drones and ammunition, and, of course, anti-tank Javelins, profited from it. The money that the U.S. government took out of the U.S. budget to lend to Ukraine remained in the United States, or rather in the contracts of these five companies.
Tyrone Case, Financial Officer (US):
This is what the US government is doing about the latest aid to Ukraine. This money, of course, will go to defense contractors: companies such as Raytheon, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamic and even Boeing have part in defense contracts. In 2022, the defense industry is doing quite well amid all the volatility and downward trajectories of the market. The point in the defense industry is that every time a munition or bomb explodes, a new one must be made. And this means that ammunition turns into money.
In the US defense budget for 2022, the Pentagon was allocated a record $782 billion. Of these, almost 30 billion was added by Congress just before the conflict in Ukraine began. It works simply. The Americans are providing military assistance to Ukraine. Military industrial enterprises produce these weapons. Even if weapons are supplied from US military warehouses, these stocks are then replenished by the same American military-industrial complex enterprises. But American arms traders, frankly, make twice. One more profit source is Europe.
Andrew Napolitano, columnist (US):
The military equipment that the US and NATO are shipping to Ukraine is not new. These are stored backup weapons that the US held in Europe in case they had to be used in Europe. And these supplies are being depleted. In the case of Germany and Poland, this is effective equipment
For years, the U.S. NATO allies in Europe studiously ignored American demands to allocate at least 2% of GDP to defense needs. And they also managed to produce some of their own, albeit poorly made, weapons. Now the share of purchases of racially correct weapons has increased to 60%. Thus, the European arsenal was emptied. Europe's defense capability has been seriously reduced. And the United States promised to make up for Europe's losses, albeit for money; in other words, the American military-industrial complex is guaranteed orders for years to come and tens of billions of dollars. The EU has already announced a cumulative increase in defense spending by 200 billion euros. However, the euro will flow overseas. Germany, Poland, Sweden, Italy are now also in line for American weapons.
For example, as of the end of 2021, the Polish army was armed with 232 Twardy tanks of its own production and 250 German Leopard-2 tanks. Now, the Polish side is dumping half of the basis of its armored forces in Ukraine, and to replace it, it has signed a billion-dollar contract for 250 Abrams with the American General Dynamics. Poland is the favorite “client” of the US defense industry: The State Department estimates the portfolio of orders for the purchase of weapons, military equipment and equipment for Warsaw at more than $15 billion. Lithuania announced this week that it is dropping 50 armored vehicles, and in return is expecting new all-terrain vehicles under a contract worth 145 million euros from the American Lockheed Martin Corporation. Another $125 million was spent for Javelins to defend the Suwalki corridor. And to be clear, the contracts signed do not mean that the weapons will be here and now, but rather later in the long term.
The US military industry is a unique phenomenon. During the World War II, the five leading US defense contractors - Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and Raytheon - made big profits, and a large number of federal government contracts were signed. Since then, their interests have been linked together. Since the end of the Cold War, the pursuit of military-industrial profits has prompted American policymakers who formulate foreign policy to be in constant search of an external enemy. And that is why NATO has been expanded. By the way, Bruce Jackson lobbied for NATO expansion by Vice President Lockheed Martin, the richest arms trading company in America and the world.
