Events are unfolding at a quickening pace. Facing an alarming escalation in tensions around the world, we are looking to our most respected and renowned thought leaders for an honest assessment of both U.S. foreign and military policy to offer their most current thoughts and insights. We know they have some ideas for improving the prospects for peace.
Mark Skidmore is a professor in the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the Betty and David Morris Chair in State and Local Government Finance and Policy, at Michigan State University. In 2017 Professor Skidmore and his team of graduate students discovered $21 trillion unaccounted for in the U.S. federal budget starting in 1998, continuing until the end of fiscal year 2015. We are extremely honored that he took the time to talk to us and share his views. His responses below are exactly as he provided. He provides some astonishing insights and revelations.
The questions here are not philosophical or abstract. They focus on the realities of the international power struggle unfolding in real time. They directly address the role of the U.S. in the escalating tensions and its capacity to reduce them. We also probe the role of everyday citizens in affecting the relationship the U.S. now has and will have with the rest of the world community.
Here is what Mark Skidmore had to say.
Q. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has recently put the hands of its Doomsday Clock to 100 seconds before midnight. Midnight means all-out war, probably nuclear holocaust. This is the closest it has ever been. Do you agree with this dire assessment?
A. In recent years, the U.S. has been provocative toward Russia; the moves by NATO to encircle Russia pose an existential threat to Russia. The U.S. and NATO have violated multiple agreements/treaties and Russian leaders have dubbed the U.S as no longer "agreement capable".
In the wake of the chaotic withdrawal U.S. troops from Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia and Russia recently announced military cooperation between the two countries. ((1) Khalid bin Salman Ø ®Ã˜ §Ã™"žÃ˜ ¯ Ø ¨Ã™" Ø ³Ã™"žÃ™"Ø §Ã™" on Twitter: "Met with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu to explore ways to strengthen the military and defense cooperation between our two countries. We discussed our common endeavor to preserve stability and security in the region, and reviewed shared challenges facing our countries. https://t.co/T7lVdITZPt" / Twitter)
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