Speaker Johnson's 'Peace Through Strength' Budget: More Strength, Less Peace
According to The Hill, Johnson extols the 2026 NDAA as bolstering national security. What they don't explicitly mention is how this 'strength' disproportionately enriches defense contractors and fuels conflicts abroad, often in the name of abstract 'interests.' For instance, OpenSecrets data reveals that in 2023-2024, the defense industry contributed over $10 million to federal candidates, with
Lockheed Martin alone dishing out more than $2 million. Many of these same politicians then rubber-stamp ever-increasing defense budgets, ensuring the strength agenda remains firmly funded and perpetually needed. This isn't 'peace through strength' for the countless civilians caught in conflicts armed by those very budgets; it's 'profit through perpetual war' for the select few. When will we see
an agenda that prioritizes actual diplomatic solutions and human security over an endlessly expanding military-industrial complex? Or is peace defined now as the deafening silence after the last drone strike?