RNA - In his first address to Congress, President Donald Trump said his budget "calls for one of the largest increases in national defense spending in American history."
Meanwhile on Thursday Trump said he wants a US military buildup of more ships and planes to "project American power in distant lands," making his case for a proposed $54 billion increase in defense spending that has U.S. lawmakers squabbling.
Wearing an olive military jacket and hat aboard a new aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, in Newport News, Virginia, Trump said he wanted the U.S. military to have the finest equipment in the world.
The proposal which is already facing stern opposition, if approved, the basic military budget would swell to $603 billion. White House officials say that Trump's request for the Pentagon included more money for shipbuilding, military aircraft and establishing “a more robust presence in key international waterways and choke points” such as the Strait of Hormuz and South China Sea. Therefore, part of the new US military budget is meant to increase hostility towards Iran and China.
Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in the House of Representatives, said Trump's plan to slash funding for federal agencies to free up money for the Pentagon shows he is not putting American working families first. During his campaigns, Trump had promised to put Americans first and reduce the defense budget but his proposed military spending shows he has other ideas.
"A $54bn cut will do far-reaching and long-lasting damage to our ability to meet the needs of the American people and win the jobs of the future," Ms Pelosi said. "The president is surrendering America's leadership in innovation, education, science and clean energy.”
Trump serving Military Industrial complex, not the people
The ‘historic’ increase of the defense budget by the billionaire president is meant to serve the mafia-like US Military Industrial Complex while other sectors benefiting the masses remain starved. Trump, liked his predecessors, is also set to inject billions of dollars to the military industries in the US by spreading Iranophobia and thus compelling Persian Gulf Sheikhdoms to renew their weapons stockpiles.
Trumps announcement of a substantial increase in US military spending comes days after he said he wants to ensure the US nuclear arsenal is at the "top of the pack," saying the United States has fallen behind in its weapons capacity. Despite the much hyped departure from tradition, Trump is pursuing failed policies pursued by the previous administrations and thus the US continues to be a leading threat to world peace and stability.
Tensions with fellow members at NATO military alliance and EU member states opposition to Trump’s contentious policies might have prompted Washington’s increase of military budget in an attempt to cover-up diminished US role across the Atlantic.
Trump’s historically low approval rating
Trump's job approval rating is 44%, according to an NBC News and Wall Street Journal poll released late on Sunday 26 February. 48% Americans said they disapprove of his performance during his first month in office, according to the polling conducted during 18-22 February.
Trump plan to increase military spending is aimed at exerting US influence and hegemony globally while he faces daily protests by Americans opposed to his disputed presidency. The Violent crackdown on dissent by law enforcement is sweeping the US with several states passing laws criminalizing and discouraging any form of dissent in apparent dictatorial tendencies. The new US administration is also facing challenges with the country’s justice system after courts overturned Trump’s controversial ban of travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries with cracks emerging in his cabinet over the issue.
Political polarization in the US moved to new levels this week when Trump claimed that predecessor Barack Obama is personally behind the growing intelligence leaks and nationwide protests against his administration. During a Fox News interview that aired on Tuesday, Trump was asked if he thought people from the Obama administration were “organizing” protests and taking other measures to undermine him.
US threatens world peace
Anti-Trump rallies have also spread to other parts of the world especially into Europe with almost daily protests and picketing outside US embassies.
This week, South Koreans also staged a protest against a land-swap deal which will see their country host the controversial US defense missile system THAAD.
The US has hundreds of military bases around the world with the sole aim of maintaining or expanding its hegemony and this is therefore a major threat to global peace and security.
A survey conducted by the Worldwide Independent Network and Gallup at the end of 2013 showed that the US is the most significant threat to world peace. In the poll conducted across 68 different countries, anti-American sentiment was not only recorded in unfriendly countries, but also in many allied NATO partners like Turkey and Greece. With Trump’s antagonistic policies, the number of those who view the US as a threat to world peace would certainly double.
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