Is the sun setting on the US empire?

[Furiousliberal]

Run time: 06:03 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAwVyDcZGRA   Posted on YouTube: August 25, 2010 By YouTube Member: DistressedLiberal Views on YouTube: 2   Posted on DU: August 25, 2010 By DU Member: Furiousliberal Views on DU: 864

 
Washington, DC, with its monuments, resembles the heart of ancient Rome. Is the American empire facing the fate of its ancient predecessor?

What does the concept of empire even mean to people today?

Experts say the modern American empire has been built on military might.

"The US defense budget is almost 50 percent of global military expenditures," said Professor Michel Chossudovsky, director of Centre for Research on Globalisation in Toronto, Canada.

Its spending overshadows all other countries in the world combined. Buying the most advanced weapons systems that are "unequaled" according to analysts, making the US a super power unrivaled in its ingenuity.

It's an imperial project with an economic agenda.

"Imposing a colonial currency has always been an objective of the empire," said Chossudovsky. "What is sustaining the dollar is US military might."

And America has a hidden agenda to make the Pentagon budget so expensive that no one else can compete. It is made up of more than $700 billion a year and nearly 70 percent of American's income taxes.

Just a small fraction of that money would go far in a neighborhood like Washington DC's poorest, Ward 8. There houses sit dilapidated with windows are boarded up and the doors filled with cinder blocks. One in two children are living in poverty and one in every four adults has no job.

"Well I can see where there's a lack of everything going around, especially the food and money problems," said Malcolm Franklin, a resident of the neighborhood.

All over the US, you can see signs of a tradeoff.

"The consequence of this war economy is the fiscal crisis," said Chossudovsky.

And as trillions of dollars have gone to bailing out Wall Street banks and defense spending combined, mainstream America has experienced, "the economic downturn, foreclosures, and job losses," according to a Washington DC food bank spokesperson. "People who used to donate to the foodback are now coming in for assistance," she added.

A country is becoming impoverished, while government deficits are now so high that despite a global War on Terror, even the military leaders of the empire are more worried that US credit is maxed out.

"I think the biggest threat we have to our national security is our debt," said Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff. "The interest on our debt is $571 billion in 2012."

That's a lot of money, and on top of that, everything produced in the economy that year isn't expected even to be enough to cover the principle.

"The United States is almost $14 trillion in debt and they want to take on more debt to keep bailing out the system, it's not working," said Gerald Celente, director of Trends Research Institute.

The Congressional Budget Office agrees and has issued its most dire warning on the budget yet. It's a spending habit that's catching up.

"It's not sustainable," said Admiral Mullen.

And in this situation, it appears neither is the dollar.

"The dollar isn't going to be worth a dime considering the direction they're taking," said Celente.

And now the United Nations wants to dump it as the global reserve currency.

For comedians it amounts to this: "America officially became a third world country," says an "analyst" on the faux-news program The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

For analysts, it's a little more complicated.

"This apparent hegemony of the US with this massive military budget worldwide is at the same time destroying the US as an imperial power," said Chossudovsky.

But it all appears to ponit in the same direction. And just as the sun has risen for other other Imperial powers in the past, from ancient Rome, to modern times, the sun has also set.
Category:
News & Politics

[raccoon]

1. Does the Pope run in the woods? Recd. nt

[dotymed]

2. Like the reporter states

the cuts in spending to ease the national debt, will undoubtedly come from "social services", rather than military spending. That will only worsen and further collapse America.
If only these "geniuses" would cut military expenditures (weapons which only become obsolete within 2-3 years)and invest in getting Americans back to work, at good wages and benefits, then America could be "saved" from the currently inevitable collapse.
Combine that with 'WEALTH TAXATION", to reverse the distribution of wealth.
Wealth should be concentrated in the hands of 99% of Americans instead of the current, 1%.
It is not rocket science. it is about a prosperous nation for the people, not the very few.
Throughout history, this has always been the downfall of empires and the cause of suffering for the masses.
All of the wealthy and the politicians know this, but are too greedy to change. They actually believe they are entitled and that any "peasant" who desires what is rightfully theirs, they should be stopped like a plague.

[cilla4progress]

3. It's like a heroin addiction -

the military industrial complex just can't get off the treadmill.

Can you imagine what would happen to him, if Obama tried to meaningfully decrease their budget? Can you spell J-F-K?

[KansDem]

4. "...the most advanced weapons systems that are "unequaled" ... making the US a super power."

Oh, I don't know...boxcutters and a complicit President are pretty powerful, too.

[Flying Squirrel]

5. Already has.

I have no faith in our system of government, it's a failed experiment. Everything our founding fathers warned against has come to pass, and none of the checks and balances have prevented it. I'd love to be wrong. I'm not someone who wants to see it all come crashing down. But it will, and very soon. I won't try to go somewhere else though, I'll ride it out the best I can with everyone else and do my best to help pick up the pieces and build a new country. God help us, because the Fascists want to do the same thing in a different way.

[Quantess]

6. Leave it Russia Today.

You'll never see a commentary like this on mainstream US media.