And it’s still chugging along. Guess it’s more than just a paper tiger, as some folks here would like to think
lol. it’s floating because of those conflicts. it’s a paper bully.
Keep oneself afloat through blood and slaughter hardly makes one paper
Paper float on blood though. Anyway, it’s not gonna collapse tomorrow, but their military might is largely overestimated, the sheer amount of money thrown at MIC hide the gigantic corruption - if we compare the actual worth they would still be on top of the list but with margin much less than the numbers suggest. Good example would be the current war which show every NATO army including USA would only have supplies for few weeks of industrial scale warfare.
I don’t think these two things are mutually exclusive. The US can engage (sometimes successfully, from their perspective) in multiple small scale interference operations while also being incapable of fighting a large scale war successfully.
The objectives of military bloat are more capitalist class interests as well rather than outright military strength and preparedness. The expansion of bases around the world for example has been used to cement dollar hegemony, and the insane military budgets and boondoggles only serve to enrich the primary shareholders of Lockheed, Raytheon, et al.
The expansion of bases around the world for example has been used to cement dollar hegemony
Precisely. And how much do you think they want to maintain that hegemony?
In my understanding of superimperialism and dollar hegemony it’s not so much that American capitalists and government want to maintain it (although they do as it’s an institution of their power), but that they must maintain dollar hegemony as a matter of survival. If they don’t, the entire house of cards falls and the bulk of the USA’s $20T+ in debt comes due.
And how far do you think they’ll be willing to go to avoid it?
Since it’s a basic question of existence, no effort will be spared to secure that existence.
Ergo the “paper bully” is going to start flinging nukes
Depends on the degree of involvement. Productive little conflicts here and there feed the beast. Exhausting commitments like Afghanistan drain it.
I don’t think Afghanistan really drained it. Look how much money the departments who wanted a war in Afghanistan got.
