Patrick Smith — The Defense Department Is Ruining America: Big Budgets, Militarization and the Real Story Behind Our Asia Pivot

As ever, follow the money through the revolving door. And the new arms race and cold war is just beginning.

Salon
The Defense Department Is Ruining America: Big Budgets, Militarization and the Real Story Behind Our Asia Pivot
Patrick Smith

Vladimir Platov — Militarization of the U.S.

Speaking at the recent session of the economic forum in Davos, the head of the US Department of Defense, Ashton Carter, urged countries to slow “the pace of militarization,” saying: “We are telling everyone, not only China but all involved: stop, stop building up military strength”.

Like all of Washington’s policy in recent years, these words of the American politician who develops and implements US military doctrine, are the best proof of the hypocritical and two-faced character of White House policy, which sets out to strengthen its leading role in the world, particularly in terms of military affairs, at the expense of other States. In particular, the latest report of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), serves as confirmation of that. The report states that the USA remains number one in terms of total spending for military purposes. Its share in total world arms spending accounts for 36% (596 billion dollars).

However, SIPRI reports that, in fact, increase military expenditure can be observed in most countries and their total, compared to the previous year, increased in 2015 by 1% to $1,676 trillion dollars.…

NEO
Militarization of the U.S.

Vladimir Platov

Ken Blanchard — China says 'really needs' South China Sea defenses in face of United States

China "really needs" its defenses in the South China Sea in the face of a militarization process being pushed by the United States, and can deploy whatever equipment it wants on its own soil, China's Defence Ministry said on Thursday.…

"The United States is the real promoter of the militarization of the South China Sea," defense ministry spokesman Wu Qian told a regular monthly news briefing.…

Wu said the U.S. was employing double standards, asking why U.S. patrols in the South China Sea should not also be considered militarization.

Reuters
China says 'really needs' South China Sea defenses in face of United States

Ken Blanchard

Franz-Stefan Gady — What Do Chinese and Russians Think of the U.S. Military?

According to a Spring 2014 Attitudes Survey by the PEW Research Center, China sees the United States as its biggest threat. Another survey conducted in Russia showed that Russians are more afraid of the United States than the Islamic State. This should not come as a surprise. The one thing any foreigner cannot do is to refuse to take the U.S. military “seriously” – after all it is the most deadly force in the world and, given the history of U.S. civil-military relations, more likely to be used outside the United States than inside the country. So if, as Fallows postulates, there is a growing gap between the civilian and military worlds in the United States, and – most importantly – if the cost of war is only shared by a tiny percentage of the population, foreigners may be excused for assuming that this will perhaps lead to increased U.S. bellicosity.…

No matter how much American pundits and scholars of U.S. civil-military relations point to the marginalization of the military within the United States, to outsiders, the perception is often that of a “New Prussia” – partially brought about by the everyday veneration of U.S. service personal, but more importantly by the sheer preponderance of U.S. military power. As I have pointed out elsewhere, a report by the Advisory Committee on Transformational Diplomacy illustrates how superior resources may cause a skewed perception: 

DoD’s regional combatant commanders have come to be perceived by states and other actors as the most influential U.S. government regional representative. It is argued that the resources that combatant commanders control, their presence and frequent travel throughout the region, and even the symbolic impact of their aircraft and accompanying service members, all combine to place them in perceived position of preeminence. 

This assertion is supported by a study of The Project on National Security Reform (PNSR), the most comprehensive effort to date to analyze the U.S. national security system and propose recommendations to alleviate many of its bureaucratic problems (disclaimer: I worked as a research analyst for PNSR). Its report conclusion emphasizes that an inequality of resources leads to an inequality in policy; i.e., the militarization of U.S. foreign policy.…

Add that to militarization of domestic security forces and what is the result? A recipe for growing fascism. If Libertarians choose to call it "national socialism," that's OK, too. And it's bipartisan.

The Diplomat
What Do Chinese and Russians Think of the U.S. Military?
Franz-Stefan Gady | Senior Fellow, Foreign Policy Analyst at EastWest Institute

Al Jazeera — Japan plans marine force and drone fleet

The Japanese government has said it needs to create a US Marines-style force and a fleet of drone aircraft as it faces territorial threats from China and North Korea.

Japan re-militarizes, signaling that the US umbrella is not enough. Pretty clear that eventually Japan will have to nuke up. Things are going in the wrong direction.

Al Jazeera

Japan plans marine force and drone fleet