Interesting thread on the potential for a quagmire in the middle east and how badly it could go for the US (nitter.net)

submitted 1 year ago by HarryLime@hexbear.net to c/chapotraphouse@hexbear.net

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[-] PKMKII@hexbear.net 14 points 1 year ago

Here’s the trillion dollar question: we know the lack of manpower is a political choice to avoid the PR problem of dead American soldiers, so a switch to remote controlled drones. But, with regards to everything else, where is all that ballooning military spending going if the bread and butter equipment is aged and unreliable? Is it going to magic toys like the F-35 and supersonic missiles that the military-industrial complex is hyping as miracles but are really boondoggles? Or is this just a sign of the DoD budget being a thinly veiled wealth transfer from the public coffers to Lockheed Martin shareholders?

[-] Maoo@hexbear.net 9 points 1 year ago

It's a lot of the latter. Also a lot of it is exports, which is also just a subsidy for arms manufacturers but the weapons go to clients. This includes Iraq. American vassals will not necessarily do everything the US wants, however, despite buying those weapons. The Saudis are a big buyer but they've pulled back as a result of the al-Aqsa flood. Japan is a buyer but they're gonna do fuck-all in the case of a ME war.

This doesn't necessarily mean that the Twitter OP is overall correct. I don't know how to evaluate whether US stockpiles are overwhelming or not and I kinda doubt they do either. But it would be a good thing to focus on, as any hints of the downfall of US empire are a call to action for us.