War is a Racket but you already know that, right? As we all know, the US unsuccessfully fights endless wars while pissing away money in the trillons as seen by the Middle East fubars beginning in the 90's along with the best selling Bill & Ted's excellent adventure known as Vietnam in the 70's.
Seque to 2023 to see if anything's changed and lo and behold, they haven't ...
The American empire lives. Leading Republicans and Democrats alike support a proxy war in Europe, back murderous conflict in the Middle East, and threaten catastrophic war in Asia. Fervent critics of “isolationism,” like Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, seem determined to defend everyone except Americans. The bulk of military outlays go either to protect prosperous and populous allies that can’t be bothered to defend themselves or to punish states not inclined to follow Washington’s dictates.
There’s always more money for arms, even though the United States is racing toward insolvency. Federal debt owed to the public is roughly 100 percent of GDP, near the record set at the close of World War II. Without dramatic change, the debt ratio will be twice as high by mid-century. Yet the bloated military budget continues to jump skyward.
The bipartisan congressional War Party risks running out of an even more important resource, manpower. Wrote Newsweek’s Alex Phillips: “A majority of American adults would not be willing to serve in the military were the U.S. to enter into a major war, recent polling has found, while public confidence in the armed forces appears to be waning.”
I Want You for U.S. Army, 1917, James Montgomery Flagg
The Huntington Library, Art Galleries, and Botanical Gardens
Houston, we have a problem.
The Pentagon’s real problem is that Americans increasingly don’t want to serve even without a major war. The armed services are having trouble filling their ranks. Explained Phillips, “In 2023, the Army and Air Force fell short of their respective goals by around 10,000 recruits, while the Navy was under by 6,000.” At least 2023 wasn’t quite as bad as the year before, which the military called “arguably the most challenging recruiting year” since creation of the All-Volunteer Force 50 years ago.
The armed services can cope with modest personnel shortfalls for a time, but soon will be unable to perform as expected. Last year, then-Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville said he would have preferred to add 70,000 to the previous year’s force, rather than cut it by 12,000, as he was forced to do. Indeed, active-duty levels have fallen 39 percent since 1987. In a desperate attempt to increase the human pool, the Army decided to suspend the requirement for a high school diploma, before retreating under fire.
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