Earlier this week the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists moved the time on the Doomsday Clock forward to 90 seconds before midnight (global annihilation), the closest it’s been since it was originally set in 1947 at 11:53 pm.
In its 75 year history, war and the threat of war has moved the minute hand closer to midnight; international treaties and nuclear non-proliferation agreements have set it further back.
And the latest move of the clock is the result of escalating hostilities in Ukraine, funded in large part by the Biden administration, according to the Bulletin.
"Russia’s thinly-veiled threats to use nuclear weapons remind the world that escalation of the conflict [in Ukraine] by accident, intention, or miscalculation is a terrible risk," said Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
"The possibilities that the conflict could spin out of anyone’s control remains high," she concluded.
Elizabeth Weise, writing for USA Today, agreed: "The world is facing a gathering storm of extinction-level consequences, exacerbated by the illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russia."
And Biden has been doing everything possible to escalate that war.
Since Russia invaded on Feb. 24 of last year, the United States has given Ukraine more than $50 billion in aid, including artillery and advanced military weapons systems. In addition, the Defense Department announced early this month that it intends to send an additional $3.1 billion in military aid.
And no matter what we send Ukraine, it will never be enough, argues Monica Duffy Toft, director of the Center for Strategic Studies at Tuft University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
She reasoned that the conflict amounts to a U.S.-Russian proxy war and that no amount of aid will, by itself, end hostilities.
"I believe the most that military aid can accomplish is to feed a war of attrition," Toft concludes. "Ending the war will require more than smart weapons and grit. It will take political acumen and diplomatic efforts to help Ukraine continue to secure its independence and protect against future Russian threats."
So who benefits from all this spending?
Certainly not the United States. Not only is our treasury being reduced, but so also is our stockpile of military hardware — our means of national self-defense.
Neither, apparently, is Ukraine benefitting. As the war escalates, more civilian areas are being targeted, including schools, hospitals, and residential apartment buildings.
The only beneficiary seems to be the defense industry. In fact, defense giant Northrop Grumman announced yesterday that it predicts 2023 to be another banner year.
"We're raising our sales outlook for 2023 and expect to deliver strong multi-year cash flow growth," Northrop Grumman Chief Executive Kathy Warden said.
That was only made possible because of the current administration’s decision to disregard a warning made 62 years ago by then-outgoing President Dwight D. Eisenhower — beware of the military-industrial complex.
The former 5-star Army general cautioned his successors not to favor the battlefield at the expense of the conference table — where treaties are hammered out between nations.
"That table, though scarred by many past frustrations, cannot be abandoned for the certain agony of the battlefield," Eisenhower said.
Ten years in Vietnam and 20 years in Afghanistan was proof that no one listened.
But how to stop Russia? By hitting it where it hurts — its economy.
While an army may march, as the saying goes, on its stomach, a war is fought by cold, hard cash.
Russia’s economy is built on exporting hydrocarbons. "Russia is a gas station masquerading as a country," the late Sen. John McCain quipped in 2015.
Former President Donald Trump recognized that and sanctioned any company working on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which delivered gas directly from Russia to the European Union.
He also supported the construction of another pipeline that would have supplied the EU with gas from Israel.
In May 2021 Biden lifted sanctions on Nord Stream 2.
The following February Biden killed support for the Israel-Europe pipeline.
Nine days later Russia invaded Ukraine.
The insanity wasn’t lost on Sen. Ted Cruz.
"Putin funds his war machine and his invasion of Ukraine by selling oil and gas. Biden has imposed sanctions on Russia's Central Bank - but exempted oil and gas, the Texas Republican tweeted March 1, 2022.
"Biden needs to get serious about cutting off Putin's ability to wage war on our Ukrainian allies."
And the irony wasn’t lost on Pittsburgh-based cop-turned-lawyer Brandon, who laughed and observed, "You think it was only petty Democratic politicians that wanted Trump out of office? Nothing worse for the defense industry than a president who ends wars instead of starting them."
So who’s Putin’s puppet now?
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.