America’s wars — who are the winners?
America was involved in Vietnam for 20 years.
Our presence started small but by 1965 had significantly escalated; 3.1 million troops saw combat and at least 58,300 were killed.
We spent more than $120 billion from 1965 to 1973, which led to an oil crisis and rampant inflation. Are you better off today because America fought in Vietnam? Are you safer?
America spent more than $2 trillion fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Then, we hurried and pulled out of Afghanistan, leaving hundreds of millions of dollars in vehicles, buildings, bases, and weapons to be used by the Taliban. The country is now in shambles.
What did we do to help Afghanistan? Are they better off now? Are we better off for our 13 years in that country?
We invaded Iraq. We lost more than 15,000 active service members and contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan. Take a look at Iraq and Afghanistan today. What did we accomplish?
We approved $113 billion in aid to Ukraine in 2022 alone. Most Americans do not want Russia to succeed in conquering Ukraine.
Efforts to help Ukraine have been supported by most Americans. How far do we go? How much can we afford? How long are we able to keep this up? Does this become another Afghanistan? American troops are not there, yet. When will this happen?
When do we start fighting in Taiwan? China wants to control Taiwan. Taiwan is rich in resources and technology.
China is reportedly on the verge, if not already sending military arms to Russia. As America depletes our own defense stockpile of missiles, tanks and more, China knows we will have less to send to Taiwan.
In the middle of all this, who is really profiting from America’s forever wars? The Military Industrial Complex will continue to make hundreds of millions of dollars with no end in sight.
We don’t want Ukraine to fall to Russia or Taiwan to China. However, what will our country have left to fight with after we have spent billions of dollars defending them? If your livelihood comes from investments in the massive military weapon sales industries, then you are probably spending most of your time counting your money.