Ron Paul: The Ukraine War Is A Racket – OpEd

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“War is a racket, wrote US Maj. General Smedley Butler in 1935. He explained: “A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small ‘inside’ group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many. Out of war a few people make huge fortunes.”

Gen. Butler’s observation describes the US/NATO response to the Ukraine war perfectly.

The propaganda continues to portray the war in Ukraine as that of an unprovoked Goliath out to decimate an innocent David unless we in the US and NATO contribute massive amounts of military equipment to Ukraine to defeat Russia. As is always the case with propaganda, this version of events is manipulated to bring an emotional response to the benefit of special interests.

One group of special interests profiting massively on the war is the US military-industrial complex. Raytheon CEO Greg Hayes recently told a meeting of shareholders that, “Everything that ‘s being shipped into Ukraine today, of course, is coming out of stockpiles, either at DOD or from our NATO allies, and that’s all great news. Eventually we’ll have to replenish it and we will see a benefit to the business.”

He wasn’t lying. Raytheon, along with Lockheed Martin and countless other weapons manufacturers are enjoying a windfall they have not seen in years. The US has committed more than three billion dollars in military aid to Ukraine. They call it aid, but it is actually corporate welfare: Washington sending billions to arms manufacturers for weapons sent overseas.

By many accounts these shipments of weapons like the Javelin anti-tank missile (jointly manufactured by Raytheon and Lockheed Martin) are getting blown up as soon as they arrive in Ukraine. This doesn’t bother Raytheon at all. The more weapons blown up by Russia in Ukraine, the more new orders come from the Pentagon.

Former Warsaw Pact countries now members of NATO are in on the scam as well. They’ve discovered how to dispose of their 30-year-old Soviet-made weapons and receive modern replacements from the US and other western NATO countries.

While many who sympathize with Ukraine are cheering, this multi-billion dollar weapons package will make little difference. As former US Marine intelligence officer Scott Ritter said on the Ron Paul Liberty Report last week, “I can say with absolute certainty that even if this aid makes it to the battlefield, it will have zero impact on the battle. And Joe Biden knows it.”

What we do see is that Russians are capturing modern US and NATO weapons by the ton and even using them to kill more Ukrainians. What irony. Also, what kinds of opportunities will be provided to terrorists, with thousands of tons of deadly high-tech weapons floating around Europe? Washington has admitted that it has no way of tracking the weapons it is sending to Ukraine and no way to keep them out of the hands of the bad guys.

War is a racket, to be sure. The US has been meddling in Ukraine since the end of the Cold War, going so far as overthrowing the government in 2014 and planting the seeds of the war we are witnessing today. The only way out of a hole is to stop digging. Don’t expect that any time soon. War is too profitable.


This article was published by RonPaul Institute.

Ron Paul

Ronald Ernest "Ron" Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American physician, author, and politician who served for many years as a U.S. Representative for Texas. He was a three-time candidate for President of the United States, as a Libertarian in 1988 and as a Republican in 2008 and 2012.

4 thoughts on “Ron Paul: The Ukraine War Is A Racket – OpEd

  • April 26, 2022 at 6:08 am
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    How True :’War is a Racket’ –simply beautifully explained. Small ‘inner group’ conducts for the benefit of the few, at the expense of the very many to make huge fortunes for the few. In the case of the Americans special interests profiteering is the US military-industrial complex.US continues to meddle in Ukraine and the UN,NATO,EU led by the US are not making any efforts to stop the uncalled for war instigated by the US as Ukraine is a milch cow for the US.

    Reply
  • April 26, 2022 at 1:23 pm
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    Complete Russian propaganda, I once respected Ron Paul and his ideas, but gradually I’ve come to realize that like Trump and his son, they have a hidden agenda opposite to common sense pro U.S. policy goals.
    The article states that the weapons being sent have no use, well then, what are the Ukrainians fighting with? And how are the Ukrainians fighting and continuing the war for such a prolonged time? Notice how Ron Paul neglects to mention Russian aggression. War is profitable, no sxxx, why is that his focus? The U.S. didn’t start the war. Russia did. Aren’t the Russians making war time profits as well? His analysis is one sided, notice how he doesn’t mention any of the idiocy of starting and continuing the war by Russia or it’s horrible outcome on Ukraine. Why????

    Reply
  • May 6, 2022 at 3:07 am
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    Ron Paul is wrong, remember Native America, and the constitution. Congress will trade with the Indian tribes, now when did that happen? Exactly. Typical Ron Paul libertarian outlook is ignorant and deluded.

    Reply
  • May 23, 2023 at 1:38 am
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    Ron Paul is correct.

    Reply

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