JTFMax:

Making profits out of war is an ancient phenomenon. Enterprises constantly supply materials to prepare armies and consequently profit from war. Enterprises have become aware that war and the post-war period are undoubtedly lucrative.

The killing business is booming in the United States. The war in Ukraine, the sabre-rattling with China over Taiwan and North Korea, and the ambitious nuclear Mullahs in Tehran. In fact, It has become a trillion-dollar industry. Its products include the nuclear arsenal and the arms export business. And it's not just the U.S. that's benefiting. Several countries are also making money out of the military complex.

U.S. military spending

A growing military complex is making trillions of dollars globally. The killing business is not new. Instead, it is a product of the neoliberal agenda that began in the mid-70s. It subordinates the state to market forces. Military spending has exacerbated the climate catastrophe and pushed developing countries into debt traps. With the economic status quo in shambles, the United States has begun to turn to military aggression to compensate for its weakened position.

"President Joe Biden has signed the Fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act into law allotting $816.7 billion to the Defense Department. Dec 23, 2022."

In the United States, the military-industrial complex comprises private military contractors and tech companies. These companies are pursuing a massive expansion of their military capacity. Many members of this military-industrial complex have committed war crimes. In addition, they have waged economic warfare against several nations, and the results have been disastrous.

U.S. arms exporter

The United States is the largest exporter of weapons in the world. As the most significant player in the global arms trade, the United States has been able to drive the global arms market for years. For the five years from 2017 to 2021, the U.S. accounted for 39 percent of significant arms deliveries worldwide, over twice what Russia transferred and nearly 10 times what China sent to its weapons clients. In addition to supplying weapons to our troops, the U.S. government also brokers weapons sales to other countries. This involves two programs: Foreign Military Sales (FMS) and Direct Commercial Sales. (DCS)

Since the start of the war in Afghanistan, Pentagon spending has totaled over $14 trillion, one-third to one-half of which went to defense contractors. Some of these corporations earned profits that are widely considered legitimate. Other gains resulted from questionable or corrupt business practices that amount to waste, fraud, abuse, price-gouging, or profiteering.

During the past two decades, the shopping list for defense contracts has undergone a gradual transformation. Many routine jobs now performed by military personnel are now outsourced to private contractors. This raises concerns about the command and control of military operations and the role of contractors in the U.S. war effort.

According to a recent Government Accountability Office report, there are 1,700 Pentagon procurement officials. Moreover, a significant number of these officials are generals. In addition, many smaller contractors have been acquired or merged with larger ones. These mergers can lead to consolidation among companies within the same sector.

Corporate America does well, while the rest of America does badly.

Corporate America is a tad more than a few shady dudes with checkbooks. For the most part, the competition is cutthroat, and the reward is a healthy dollop of free cash. Corporations large and small have been, by far, the largest beneficiaries of the post‑9/​11 surge in military spending.

War is good for residents of the Beltway. They collect promotions and raises almost irrespective of performance. The defense industry is similarly insulated from reality. So the rest of America is stuck with the bill as average folks die in and pay for America's many wars.

Read Doug Bandow from the CATO Institute: