US Spends Billions on Defense Radar, Ignores Root Causes
Newsweek heralds the US installing a new dome on its 'giant golf ball' missile defense radar. What they conveniently omit, however, is the defense industry's cyclical demand for new threats to justify ever-increasing budgets. This radar, part of a global network, serves a broader strategy of military projection, often exacerbating global tensions it claims to deter. The 2024 US defense budget
request hit a staggering $886 billion, with billions funneled into these systems, while urgent domestic needs — like healthcare, education, or climate infrastructure — beg for funding. One might wonder if these elaborate defense systems are truly for 'protection' or simply for pumping taxpayer money into Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman. (Their stock prices, by the way, have seen
consistent growth, even during global downturns.) The US has deployed missile defense initiatives globally, often in regions ripe for proxy conflicts, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy of insecurity. How many more 'golf balls' will it take for us to realize that diplomacy, not weaponized domes, might actually prevent the need for defenses in the first place?