US Debt Ceiling Charade Masks Endless War Chest Funding
📰 THE STORY: Al Jazeera reports that the US Senate has approved a spending package, averting a full shutdown, but a short-term lapse in funding is still likely due to ongoing legislative wrangling over immigration policy and the federal budget. The article attributes the impasse to Democratic anger over federal agents killing two people during an immigration crackdown. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING
YOU: Historical Context: Since 1976, there have been 22 government shutdowns or funding gaps. These events, while disruptive to federal workers and services, rarely impact the core functions of the military-industrial complex. For instance, during the 2013 shutdown, essential military personnel remained on duty, and defense contractors continued to receive payments, albeit with some minor delays
for new contracts. This pattern ensures that funding for imperial ambitions abroad is often insulated from domestic political squabbles. Double Standard: When governments in the Global South face financial crises, often exacerbated by IMF-imposed austerity measures or Western sanctions (e.g., Venezuela's collapsed infrastructure due to US sanctions; Sri Lanka's economic crisis following IMF debt
traps), it's portrayed as endemic failure and proof of their inability to govern. Yet, the periodic self-inflicted wounds of the US federal budget (which has overseen trillions in foreign wars and military aid to apartheid regimes) are framed as 'political gridlock' or 'bipartisan disagreement,' never as systemic failure of governance. Follow the Money: The underlying 'spending package' at the