This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here.
In the age of Donald Trump, like every era before his in my lifetime, the military-industrial complex that President Dwight D. Eisenhower first warned us about in his 1961 farewell address is only getting ever better funded and our American world ever more militarized. I doubt, in fact, that there has been a president in this century who hasn't launched or continued an (unsuccessful) war of some sort. Donald Trump started quickly his second time around with the now-ongoing bombing of the Houthis in Yemen (which is also, of course, devastating parts of the civilian population and infrastructure there).
But when it comes to the Pentagon these days, war abroad isn't by any means the whole story, especially when the president happens to be focused on non-White immigrants right here in the United States as The Enemy. Yes, he may feel such immigrants are a disaster for the country, but they're not for the Pentagon and the Silicon Valley tech companies now supporting it who are hot to further militarize our borderlands for plenty of dough, while strengthening the border-industrial complex.
And don't forget the growing immigrant detention system in this country. The White House is plugging for a sixfold increase in funding for it, and Senate Republicans have already proposed $175 billion over the coming decade just for "immigration enforcement." While much of that money might not go directly to the Pentagon but to private detention operators, it will certainly help to further militarize this country of ours.
Of course, as TomDispatch regular William Hartung, co-author of the forthcoming book The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home, has noted for years at this site, the Pentagon budget only grows (and grows and grows). And that's no less true in the era of a president and his billionaire buddy whose goal otherwise is to cut, cut, cut. Tom
The Ever-Expanding War Machine
Dismantling the Government While Pumping Up the Pentagon
Under the guise of efficiency, the Trump administration is taking a sledgehammer to essential programs and agencies that are the backbone of America's civilian government. The virtual elimination of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and plans to shut down the Department of Education are just the most visible examples of a campaign that includes layoffs of budget experts, public health officials, scientists, and other critical personnel whose work undergirds the daily operations of government and provides the basic services needed by businesses, families, and individuals alike. Many of those services can make the difference between solvency and poverty, health and illness, or even, in some cases, life and death for vulnerable populations.
The speed with which civilian programs and agencies are being slashed in the second Trump era gives away the true purpose of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). In the context of the Musk-Trump regime, "efficiency" is a cover story for a greed-driven ideological campaign to radically reduce the size of government without regard for the human consequences.
So far, the only agency that seems to have escaped the ire of the DOGE is -- don't be shocked! -- the Pentagon. After misleading headlines suggested that its topline would be cut by as much as 8% annually for the next five years as part of that supposed efficiency campaign, the real plan was revealed -- finding savings in some parts of the Pentagon only to invest whatever money might be saved in -- yes! -- other military programs without any actual reductions in the department's overall budget. Then, during a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on April 7th, Trump announced that "we're going to be approving a budget, and I'm proud to say, actually, the biggest one we've ever done for the military . . . $1 trillion. Nobody has seen anything like it."
So far, cuts to make room for new kinds of military investments have been limited to the firing of civilian Pentagon employees and the dismantling of a number of internal strategy and research departments. Activities that funnel revenue to weapons contractors have barely been touched -- hardly surprising given that Musk himself presides over a significant Pentagon contractor, SpaceX.
The legitimacy of his role should, of course, be subject to question. After all, he's an unelected billionaire with major government contracts who, in recent months, seemed to have garnered more power than the entire cabinet combined. But cabinet members are subject to Senate confirmation, as well as financial disclosure and conflict-of-interest rules. Not Musk, though. Not only hasn't he been vetted by Congress, but he's been allowed to maintain his role in SpaceX.
A Hollow Government?
The Trump and Musk hollowing out of the civilian government, while keeping the Pentagon budget at enormously high levels of funding, means the United States is well on its way to becoming the very "garrison state" that President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned against in the early years of the Cold War. And mind you, all of that's true before Republican hawks in Congress like Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS), who is seeking $100 billion more in Pentagon spending than its officials have asked for, even act.
What's at stake, however, goes well beyond how the government spends its money. After all, such decisions are being accompanied by an assault on basic constitutional rights like freedom of speech and a campaign of mass deportations that already includes people with the legal right to remain in the United States. And that's not to mention the bullying and financial blackmailing of universities, law firms, and major media outlets in an attempt to force them to bow down to the administration's political preferences.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
Post Article Comment and Rate This Article
