Dismantling the Warfare State: A Fiscal and Strategic Imperative

The Looming Fiscal Doomsday

The federal budget is a runaway train hurtling towards fiscal disaster. The national debt, a staggering $36 trillion and climbing, is on track to reach an unimaginable $62 trillion by the mid-2030s – even under the rosiest of scenarios. These projections, based on the Congressional Budget Office's (CBO) optimistic assumptions of no new spending, no recessions, and perpetually low interest rates, are a fiscal fantasy.

A minimally realistic increase in interest rates paints a far more dire picture: $3 trillion in annual debt service and a $4.5 trillion deficit by 2034. The current trajectory leads to a fiscal doom-loop, with interest payments fueling an explosion of debt potentially reaching $150 trillion by mid-century.

Short of bringing the Empire home and slashing the national security budget by at least $500 billion annually, there's no escaping this impending catastrophe.

The Origins of Empire: A Century of Strategic Missteps

How did a peaceful republic, protected by vast oceans, become a global empire burdened by a gargantuan, unaffordable Warfare State? The answer lies in a series of strategic blunders dating back to 1917, culminating in the creation of NATO and the subsequent embrace of "entangling alliances."

Woodrow Wilson's intervention in World War I, a war that posed no threat to American security, set a dangerous precedent. The "lessons" of the interwar period, misconstrued and amplified, led to the establishment of a permanent, Washington-based empire after World War II – a stark departure from the Founders' wisdom.

The Cold War: A Case of Mistaken Identity

The Cold War, fueled by misplaced fears and the machinations of a burgeoning War Party in Washington, solidified America's imperial trajectory. The Truman Doctrine, the Marshall Plan, and NATO, ostensibly designed to contain Soviet expansion, were in fact instruments of political control and a boon to the military-industrial complex.

The Soviet archives reveal a different story: a war-ravaged nation focused on securing its borders, not on conquering Western Europe. NATO, therefore, offered no additional security to the American homeland, serving instead as a costly and counterproductive globalist project.

As Senator Robert Taft presciently warned, encircling Russia with alliances would only provoke suspicion and hostility. He argued that America's security rested on its geographical isolation and a strong national defense, not on foreign entanglements.

"How would we feel if Russia undertook to arm a country on our border; Mexico, for instance?" - Senator Robert Taft

The Forever Wars: A Legacy of Waste and Ruin

Every war fought since the ratification of the NATO treaty has been unnecessary, a tragic waste of American lives and resources. From Korea to Vietnam, Iraq to Afghanistan, these interventions have brought nothing but destruction and instability, while achieving nothing of strategic value for the United States.

These wars, justified by flimsy pretexts of supporting allies and promoting regional stability, have left a trail of human suffering and fiscal ruin. The cost of empire, measured in lives lost, bodies broken, and dollars squandered, is simply too high.

Fortress America: A Path to Security and Solvency

In the 21st century, the only credible threat to American security is nuclear attack. Fortunately, no nation possesses a first-strike capability that could overwhelm the US nuclear triad. Maintaining this deterrent, according to the CBO, requires a mere 7% of the current military budget.

Beyond nuclear deterrence, a Fortress America defense strategy, focused on protecting the continental US, would drastically reduce military spending. The vast oceans, enhanced by modern surveillance and missile technology, provide a formidable barrier against conventional attack. Neither Russia nor China possesses the economic or military capacity to mount a successful invasion of the American homeland.

By abandoning its global empire and embracing a Fortress America posture, the United States could slash its military budget by hundreds of billions of dollars annually. This would not only restore fiscal sanity but also free up resources for domestic priorities and reduce America's role as a global military interventionist.

The time has come to bring the Empire home, dismantle the Warfare State, and return to the Founders' vision of a peaceful, solvent republic.