I am not really puzzled by the atrocities of governments as
it has always been the case one way or another, but by people’s apathy,
oblivion, ignorance, and indifference. For instance, in the last election of
November 2014, which was considered the most expensive midterm election ever,
and with the lowest ratio of participation, Republicans won both houses. This
statement by itself proves how vital it is for people to participate. There
also were widespread forms of voter suppression, another indicator that if
people decide to participate in the election process and vote for alternatives,
there is a large chance that they elect right candidates.
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When the
old colonial countries attacked other nations and started atrocities and mayhem,
majority of the people of the world would not notice such belligerent
territorial invasion due to scarce level of communication. Therefore, only
those directly affected would learn about and experience the extent of carnage.
We are living in a world presently, where modes of communication are abundant
and global. Although major news networks, whether in print or sound or picture,
are mostly dominated by corporations whose main concerns are profit making and
therefore they become the mouthpiece of the rich and the wealthy, there are many
other alternatives, mostly on the cyberspace, where one can receive
unconventional and unfeigned news.
Most of the well-established news media with large and vast
coverage are managed or owned by small group of people affiliated or who have similar
interests with government establishments. As a result, they print or broadcast
news with governments’ policies in mind. Governments in return protect and
maintain interests of such establishments, i.e. profit-making corporations. As
a result, interests of the common person or the majority are not in mind,
neither in governments’ policies nor in the news which are tailored to protect
current governments’ policies. Therefore, news media accessible to ordinary
people, such as syndicated television and radio news networks and prints,
protect wealth of large corporations. However, there are many news media on the
cyberspace or in local prints, in addition to a handful of TV and radio
stations in the US that are supported by and represent the public. Majority of
the people do not know that such media exist and they can easily search and
find them. The perplexing point is that most of them do not seek alternative
news broadcasts, and as a result, they fall victim to rumor-spreading, fact- contriving,
and half-truth telling major news networks. Perhaps, the problem is lack of
interest in reading and fact finding.
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We are already aware of homelessness and poverty all over
the world, mostly in Asia (mainly Middle East) and in Africa. We are told that
such impoverishment are as a result of atrocities and wars and destruction.
We are also told that present wars are ignited by religious fanatics who are
trying to impose their own brand of religion on others. These three statements
must create several questions in our minds. Why are these wars happening only
in the poorest continents of the world, mainly in Africa and in Asia (not
mentioning Ukraine which is located in Europe, but for the same reason
explained later)? Starting a war is not cheap! It requires weapons and
personnel. Who is providing funds and manpower? If these wars are for religious
ambitions, why would anyone be attracted to a religion that can only expand by
decapitation, carnage and mayhem? The answer to the first question is simple.
African and Asian lands are filled with natural resources and minerals. In
order to satisfy Western countries appetite, access to those lands is vital.
This can be accomplished through a puppet dictator, or by creating proxy wars
and keeping people busy with it while their natural resources are pulled out
from under their feet. Last two questions can be responded by examining some
statistics. Following statistics are derived from Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’ yearbook of 2013:
World
military spending, 2013
Region
|
Spending
($ b.)
|
Change(%)
|
Africa
|
44.9
|
8.3
|
North Africa
|
18.7
|
9.6
|
Sub-Saharan Africa
|
26.2
|
7.3
|
Americas
|
736
|
-6.8
|
Central America and the Caribbean
|
9.6
|
6.0
|
North America
|
659
|
-7.8
|
South America
|
67.4
|
1.6
|
Asia and Oceania
|
407
|
3.6
|
Central and South Asia
|
63.7
|
1.2
|
East Asia
|
282
|
4.7
|
Oceania
|
25.9
|
-3.2
|
South East Asia
|
35.9
|
5.0
|
Europe
|
410
|
-0.7
|
Eastern Europe
|
98.5
|
5.3
|
Western and Central
|
312
|
-2.4
|
Middle East
|
150
|
4.0
|
World total
|
1747
|
-1.9
|
According to the above
table, the largest military spending belongs to North American nations by far
(almost as much as all other countries combined). The following table is broken
down by countries, which represent US claiming the highest share, meaning that
a very large part of the North American nations’ shares belongs to the US
(36.6% of all the world’s expenditures on military). The highest increase in
military spending from the year before also belongs to the same category.
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Foregoing table also represents
next big spenders after the US, namely China and Russia, the two countries US government
claims to pose a threat to her sovereignty. It is interesting to note that
Saudi Arabia is next in line, which not only is in the fourth place, it is also
using the highest (9.3%) percentage of its GDP in military expenditures. Next
highest percentage of GDP used for military purposes belongs to United Arab
Emirates. Although it is at the bottom of the table for the amount spent on
military, considering the size of their budget one should only consider their
percentage of GDP. Statistics mentioned for Saudi Arabia and UAE explain
funding of ISIS and other militias against the Syrian government.
The 10 largest arms-producing
companies, 2012
Company
(country) |
Arms
sales
($ m.) |
Profit
($ m.) |
||
1
|
Lockheed Martin
|
36 000
|
2 745
|
|
2
|
Boeing
|
27 610
|
3 900
|
|
3
|
BAE Systems (UK)
|
26 850
|
2 599
|
|
4
|
Raytheon
|
22 500
|
1 900
|
|
5
|
General Dynamics
|
20 940
|
-332
|
|
6
|
Northrop Grumman
|
19 400
|
1 978
|
|
7
|
EADS (trans-Europe)
|
15 400
|
1580
|
|
8
|
United Technologies
|
13 460
|
5 200
|
|
9
|
Finmeccanica (Italy)
|
12 530
|
-1 010
|
|
10
|
L-3 Communications
|
10 840
|
782
|
Above table shows the ten largest arms producing companies.
The first two largest sales volumes belong to two American companies. Out of
the ten, seven companies are American and the other three are European
companies. This explains the reason why all the theater of wars located in the
Middle-East. By controlling political destinies of other nations through coup
d’ tat and war, in addition to puppet dictators, North American and European
governments increase profitability of companies within their borders.
The main importers and
exporters of major arms, 2009–13
Exporter
|
Global
share (%) |
Importer
|
Global
share (%) |
1. USA
|
29
|
1. India
|
14
|
2. Russia
|
27
|
2. China
|
5
|
3. Germany
|
7
|
3. Pakistan
|
5
|
4. China
|
6
|
4. UAE
|
4
|
5. France
|
5
|
5. Saudi Arabia
|
4
|
6. UK
|
4
|
6. USA
|
4
|
7. Spain
|
3
|
7. Australia
|
4
|
8. Ukraine
|
3
|
8. South Korea
|
4
|
9. Italy
|
3
|
9. Singapore
|
3
|
10. Israel
|
2
|
10. Algeria
|
3
|
USA is number one again for exporting arms, according to
the above table, followed by Russia. This table shows a four-year range from
2009 through 2013. Therefore, comparing this table with previously mentioned tables
is biased, except that the US has been on the top of the table as the number
one exporter, for every one of these years.
With this knowledge, that the United States is the largest
manufacturer and exporter of arms, it makes sense to conclude that the US
ignites wars in various parts of the world, specifically countries that cannot
defend themselves against an aggressor armed to the teeth. However, this is not
the only reason that the US is seeking military advancements against certain
countries. We need to study two documents in order to understand other reasons
behind these wars.
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The first document is titled “A Clean Break: A New Strategy for
Securing the Realm”. This document was
written by a group headed by Richard Pearle and Benjamin Netanyahu in 1996.
Since the plan was heavily relied on US cooperation, it could not be
accomplished until the presidency of the second Bush. The plan included Turkey
and Jordan as main ground assistants against other Arab nations, especially
those who may pose a threat towards Israel, and a clean break for Israel by
achieving peace through strength! Two of the objectives of this plan were
removal of Saddam Hussein, which caused destruction of Iraq, one of the oldest
civilizations, and removal of Bashar Assad from Syria, the most multi-cultural
multi-religion country in the Middle-East, and another one of the oldest
civilizations in the world, which is underway.
The second document is titled “Project for the New American Century” (PNAC). This plan was written by a group headed by
William Kristol with the goal of “promoting American global leadership” in 1997.
The instrument to achieve this goal was mainly strengthening militarily and
leading the world through military achievements. This policy was again possible
to be taken off the ground during the presidency of the second Bush. Attacking
the sovereign states of Afghanistan and Iraq, followed by Libya and Syria are
pursuant to this policy. PNAC members asked Clinton in 1997 for removal of
Saddam Hussein, which was approved by Clinton. This resulted in UN sanctions
against Iraq. The goal of PNAC is American hegemony and US global supremacy.
Drones attacks in many African and Middle-Eastern countries are in pursuit of
this plan as well.
When a despot regime is overthrown, the country’s
infrastructure collapses, due to the dictator’s control of all aspects of life
in the country, and the political vacuum created since all the opposition has
already been obliterated. The society is then ripe for any foreign intrusion. That
made the two American projects somewhat easy to achieve. These two projects are
responsible for all the wars and destructions in the Middle-East, beginning
with an outright attack on Afghanistan, using September Eleven event as a
precursor (there are numerous documents disclosing that the Bush administration
knew about that event but ignored it for political gains), to the point of
creation of a new primitive and brutally natured tribal government such as ISIS.
The strategy of assault on Syria was authored by the US, recruited by Taliban
and Al-Qaida, funded by Saudi Arabia and UAE, and land use was provided by
Turkey and Jordan. Iran was very helpful for the US advancement directly and
indirectly into Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. However, the government of Iran
does not seem to be very keen in providing any assistance in invasion of Syria,
and all the hurdles in nuclear negotiation come down to Iran’s submission. Countries
that are on the list after Syria are North Korea and Iran. Military intervention
will end by downfall of governments of Russia and China, if those governments
do not submit to the US supremacy. As it has always been US government’s policy
of creating turbulence or taking advantage of an existing one, the plan is
working out with the European and some Asian countries picking their shares of spoils.
In order not to be left behind, in elections of recent years the most
right-wing candidates are elected in most elections and virtually every nation.
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As long as there are profits to be made of manufacturing armaments
and artillery, and Western governments protect their arm manufacturers by all
means, there are more armaments manufactured. As long as there are military munitions
in the market, customers are created. As long as there are customers for weapons,
there are wars. As long as there are wars, there is uncertainty about the security
and stability of any nation. As long as there are super powers vying for their
supremacy, security, peace, tranquility, and stability are meaningless words.
Some alternative news links (note that most of these sites
survive only on private donations and readers’ contributions and participation):
