The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 698: Hunter and Prey (asking for monthly ticket)
Another clear evidence of the decline of the United States' influence in the Middle East is the sharp decline in the number of U.S. military bases and military allies in the Middle East.

The original US military bases in the Middle East either expired and the other parties did not agree to renew their contracts, or they were forcibly driven out, leaving the US with only three military bases in the Middle East.

More and more Middle Eastern countries emphasize the Arab League and emphasize non-alignment and independence!
The United States is also worried about this situation.

The U.S. military, the U.S. dollar, and U.S. technology are the strongest weapons and the three pillars of American hegemony.

The United States has established various international rules and vigorously promoted these systems and rules through its powerful U.S. military, U.S. dollar, and U.S. technology.

The Fifth Middle East War has shown that relying solely on Israel as a lever is not enough for the United States to exert a strong influence in the Middle East.

Why did the United States add fuel to the flames this time instead of strongly opposing it and letting Saddam understand the United States' determination? Wasn't it just to take this opportunity to allow the United States to return to the Middle East?

The person in charge of the military immediately said: "Congress is studying cutting the defense budget. If the resolution is passed, the military will face a very difficult situation in the future. Perhaps we can find an opportunity to beat Iraq."

The current situation is very unfavorable for the US military.

The failure in the Vietnam War left the US Army in a state of confusion, as if it had no idea how to fight. It also cost hundreds of billions of dollars, and in the end, it ended up with a 'Saigon Moment', which embarrassed the US in front of the whole world.

Since then, US military spending has reached new highs every year.

Faced with the Soviet Union's relentless pressure, the United States continued to increase its military spending, develop more advanced weapons, and equip more advanced equipment.

The original plan was to give Libya a clean and efficient beating, but no one expected that so many warships and planes would be lost.

Congress has always felt that the growing military spending has become unbearable for the US government, which is already experiencing an economic downturn and a growing fiscal deficit.

Last year, the U.S. military budget was as high as $3251 billion, which had already been cut by Congress. This year's military budget was cut again, leaving only $2993.7 billion, a reduction of $257.3 billion.

It has now been reported that Congress will continue to cut part of the military budget next year, reducing the US military budget to below $2500 billion.

This undoubtedly made the US military very uncomfortable.

Military spending is not only related to soldiers' salaries, weapons replacement, base construction and maintenance, etc., but it is also a business in the United States.

Cutting military spending is equivalent to cutting off the path to wealth for many people.

Naturally, this caused dissatisfaction among many people.

But now, the mainstream voice is that military spending is too high.

The normalization of relations between the United States and China is a huge boost to the United States, greatly reducing the pressure on the United States in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. In addition, trade between the two countries has repeatedly set new highs, bringing a large trade surplus to the United States every year. Cheap goods from China have also effectively curbed inflation, otherwise the inflation in the United States would be even higher.

Moreover, the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union is improving, the relationship has been greatly eased, and the global situation is tending towards a more stable state.

So Congress simply didn’t buy into the military’s previous tactics.

The US Congress naturally does not want to continue investing money in military spending.

Cutting the defense budget is the dream of countless American taxpayers and politicians.

However, this is unacceptable to the US military and domestic weapons and equipment manufacturers and suppliers.

The US needs to continue to upgrade its equipment. Congress actually wants to reduce military spending. How can this be possible?

Bush Sr. frowned slightly, did not speak directly, and fell silent.

The defense suppliers who supported him in taking office were also worried about Congress cutting the defense budget. After all, the defense budget had been cut for two consecutive years, so they put a lot of pressure on him. As an elite, he was naturally very clear about the current situation in the United States. There was no doubt that cutting the defense budget and investing more money in economic construction would benefit the United States.

But he had to consider the opinions of his financial backers.

Over the past decade or so, his family has made a lot of money from the oil business, but this does not mean that he can rely on no one but his financiers and allies.

So he had made the decision long before.

He knew that the only way to make Congress change its mind was to start a war!
However, he also had to make sure that the United States had a righteous cause, so that it could unite its allies and win the support of the whole world, to prevent the Soviets from sabotaging or even intervening and ruining his plans.

Moreover, it is not just the United States that has to pay. In fact, the United States cannot pay too much. It has to find ways to drag its allies and the wealthy oil-producing countries in the Middle East into the issue and make them bear most of the military expenses.

So, there was a plan to add fuel to the fire.

Now, Saddam has stepped into the hunter's trap step by step.

"Kuwait and Iraq have always had territorial disputes. The possibility of Kuwait agreeing to join Iraq and become a province of Iraq is very small. Judging from the current situation, Saddam will take action and launch an invasion of Kuwait. We have a good relationship with Kuwait and have every reason to help them regain their territory. If Kuwait takes the initiative to propose it, it would be the best. At that time, even the Soviet Union will not be able to say no." An adviser said coldly.

This is their plan.

Dig a hole and let Iraq jump into it.

Others spoke up.

It is not easy to accomplish this in the Middle East and it requires planning step by step.

Iraq did not start a war, and there is no legitimate reason for the United States to intervene.

If the United States had no reason to go to war with a Middle Eastern country, it would not be as easy as launching an invasion war against Panama.

Panama has only one canal, but the oil in the Middle East is related to the lifeline of the world economy.

Besides, Panama is right under our noses, while the Middle East is thousands of miles away.

Only if Iraq invades Kuwait or Saudi Arabia can the United States send troops to directly participate in the war on the grounds of helping friends and safeguarding their national sovereignty.

"What about Persia? What do they say? Are they willing to restore the Pahlavi dynasty?" An advisor brought up a key issue.

If the Pahlavi dynasty could be restored in Persia, then with Persia as a handle, all the problems the United States encounters in the Middle East will be easily solved.

By then, no matter which Arab country makes trouble, the United States will not need to take action. With the sword of Persia, it can easily punish the other party.

"They refused. They were very tough and believed that there was nothing to talk about. They even asked us to hand over the Pahlavi royal family to them for trial." The person responsible for communicating with Persia shook his head and said helplessly.

"Damn it, they don't know what's good for them! They owe us hundreds of billions of dollars now!" One person couldn't help but curse.

In order to prevent Persia from failing in the Iran-Iraq War, the United States provided a lot of help, not only unfreezing Persia's frozen assets, but also providing loans.

As it turned out, I didn’t expect the Persians to have such a bad temper.

So ignorant!

(End of this chapter)