By Jin Yi'nan
The Russian-Ukraine conflict is a proxy war in which it's the Ukrainians that are fighting and dying, using weapons provided by America. By providing huge amounts of weapons to Ukraine, including the Javelin anti-tank missile, Stinger air defense missile, High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), and many others not even disclosed, the US has obtained enormous geopolitical and economic gains.
The US is making a new attempt to save its economy through proxy wars. On the surface, Ukraine is defending its sovereign independence against Russia, but in fact, it is expending Russia’s strengths and resources on America’s behalf using US dollars and weapons. The US has a track record of waging wars in the past, including the Korean War, Vietnam War, Gulf War, Iraqi War, Afghan War, etc, which have caused it immense casualties and economic losses because it sent its own troops there. But through a proxy war, like what’s happening between Russia and Ukraine now, it is able to make hay without bearing casualties.
The breakout of Russia-Ukraine conflict sent the share price of America’s top five arms and ammunition groups soaring by over ten or tens of times. By November, Washington’s military assistance to Ukraine had amounted to about US$20 billion in worth. Raytheon Company’s CEO Greg Hayes recently said the past 10 months of the conflict have exhausted all Javelin anti-tank missiles the company has produced in five years and all Stinger air defense missiles produced in 13 years.
As the whole world is feeling the strain on energy supply and production, with economic and industrial indicators, including those of America, falling, arms dealers are seeing their share prices skyrocketing. Will America’s “generous” military assistance to Ukraine drag or drive its domestic economy? How will it all play out? The US is still trying.
But we must be clear about how the ongoing spread of American weaponry is seriously damaging world security. Before the Russian-Ukraine conflict broke out, former US President Trump called Ukraine the most corrupt country in the world as it is rife with bribery and black market trade. After the conflict broke out, many weapons went through the black market in the Middle East or North Africa to places out of America’s control, such as Albania, Kosovo, even the terrorist organization People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet’s Teachings and Jihad, generally known as Boko Haram, in Nigeria.
Arms trafficking leads to turmoil and escalation of conflict – exactly what happens with the trafficking of American weapons, which always cause escalated conflicts and turbulence wherever they go. But Washington feels no qualms about that, comforting itself with the thought that it hasn’t provided the weapons and whoever lays hands on them from wherever is not its responsibility.
Arms deals are masterminded by arms dealers, behind whom are politicians. When former US President Eisenhower stepped down in 1960, he warned repeatedly that America should not have a military-industrial complex because it would hijack national interests. The complex hopes for war, desires war, and would create one if there is no war. What’s evident to everyone is that such a complex is having its way in the US today.
Editor's note: The author is an expert of the National Defense Strategy Committee of China Development Strategics Association at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Originally published on military.cnr.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.