Deepa Kumar Chapters 7 and 8: Imperialism, Warfare, and the Post-9/11 Landscape

Introduction to US Global Military Presence and Imperialism

The United States military maintains an extensive, sprawling global presence that outpaces all other nations.
Although the US constitutes only $5\%$ of the world’s population, it spends more on its military than any other country on Earth.
When excluding China, the United States spends more on military efforts than every other military combined.
Historical Justification: The Cold War - These vast expenditures originated during the Cold War ( $1947$ – $1991$ ), a period of military competition between the US and the Soviet Union. - The Soviet Union collapsed around $1990$ or $1992$ . - The primary justification during this era was to counter the military capabilities of the USSR and prevent the export of the socialist model. - The Vietnam War and the Domino Effect: The justification for the Vietnam War was rooted in the "domino effect"—the belief that if one country (Vietnam) fell to communism, neighboring countries would follow like a row of falling dominoes.
Modern Military Expenditure Statistics: - In recent years, despite the lack of a Cold War threat, the US has expanded its nuclear strike capabilities to include more than $20$ additional sites. - In $2010$ , the official expenditure was listed at $534,000,000,000$ , but the actual total was likely closer to $850,000,000,000$ when considering extra spending on warfare. - Currently, the official figure is approximately $800,000,000,000$ , but if non-categorized military costs are included, the total probably exceeds $1,000,000,000,000$ . - The Department of Defense (DOD): Auditors from the Department of Defense (colloquially referred to as the "Department of War") admitted they could not account for approximately $\frac{1}{4}$ of the money they spent. - Discretionary vs. Mandatory Spending: The majority of US discretionary funding is allocated to the military.
Economic Impact of Military Spending: - According to data on page $142$ of the text, military spending does not provide as many jobs as other spending models. - Investments in education and healthcare translate into more jobs per dollar than military spending. - High military spending without high job production acts as a suck on the economy, requiring higher taxes and putting pressure on the working class while providing little visible return.

Defining Imperialism and the Levers of Power

Imperialism Definition: The use of consent and non-consent to extract resources or desired outcomes from other people or countries.
Global power is expressed through three primary categories:
1. Military Imperialism (Hard Power): - The use of physical force or military might to impose will on other nations.
2. Economic Imperialism (Hard Power): - The use of economic force to suffocate or control a nation. - The Case of Cuba: The US maintains an economic blockade on Cuba, banning other countries from trading with or sending resources to the island. - The goal is to force down living standards until the populace is coerced into overthrowing their government and installing one friendly to the United States. - Military and economic imperialism are fundamentally linked; military might (e.g., naval assets around Cuba) is required to deter other countries from trading with the blockaded nation.
3. Cultural and Social Imperialism (Soft Power): - This involves the exportation of Hollywood films, American ideas, and socio-political projects friendly to US enterprise. - While significant, it is considered a lesser and less important category than hard military and economic power.
The "New Cold War" with China: - There is a growing narrative among policymakers that the Chinese state is a fundamental threat to US security interests. - In $2019$ , the US was the world's top military spender at $649,000,000,000$ , while China spent significantly less at $261,000,000,000$ . - The primary threat from China is economic. US policymakers are increasingly adopting a stance against the economic development of other nations, which is dangerous as most nation-states view economic prosperity as a primary objective. - The post-Cold War logic that market liberalization would lead to a democratic regime in China has failed; the Chinese Communist Party remains in power and, according to polling, maintains strong support among its citizens.

Deepa Kumar: Neoconservatism and the Post-9/11 Landscape

September 11 as a Watershed Moment: - Prior to $9/11$ , a direct attack on American soil was not considered a realistic possibility. - The event could have led to self-reflection regarding US behavior and foreign policy, but instead, it was seized as an opportunity to extend "Neoconservatism."
The Principles of Neoconservatism: - 1. The belief that the Cold War proved capitalist liberal democracy is the only viable alternative. - 2. The belief that the United States is the epitome of the capitalist liberal democratic model. - 3. The belief that it is the US’s political role to export this model globally through force and global management.
Kumar’s Features of the Neoconservative Project: - Unilateralism: Taking action through warfare singular to the US, rather than through the United Nations. - Securing Resources: Exporting democracy while simultaneously securing essential raw materials, particularly energy and oil, necessary for economic prosperity. - Israel and Zionism: Per Kumar’s argument, Israel serves as a base of operations or a "frontward position" for westward expansion in the oil-rich Middle East.
The Blowback Mechanism: - Historically, the US worked to destroy secular socialist and communist movements in the Middle East during the Cold War because they wanted to build local economies for the people rather than multinational corporations. - In destroying secular movements, the US promoted right-wing theological movements. - Result: This led to "blowback," where short-term interests produced long-term threats organized around political Islam and theocracy (e.g., the Iranian Revolution).

The Bush Doctrine and Civilizational Discourse

The Bush Doctrine: Focused on proactive regime change in the Middle East.
Theoretical Basis: Based on Samuel P. Huntington’s theory of the "Clash of Civilizations." - Huntington argued that global conflict was no longer ideological (socialism vs. capitalism) but civilizational (the West vs. the Islamist Middle East).
Racial Undertones: This civilizational discourse often carries a latent racism, positioning the West as "the best" and Middle Eastern regimes as "retrograde" or "backwards," ignoring the history of secularism and modernity in those regions.
The Islamic Threat: This framework allowed the US foreign policy establishment to push forward the idea of an existential "Islamic threat."

Domestic Effects: The Boomerang Effect and State Surveillance

War abroad invariably produces changes at home, often bringing law enforcement in conjunction with foreign policy goals.
History of State Surveillance – COINTELPRO ( $1956$ – $1971$ ): - A program designed to spy on Americans and disrupt the freedom of association. - Tactics included: Psychological warfare, infiltrators to disorganize groups, false arrests, harassment, and intimidation. - Targets: Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK), the Black Panther Party, the American Indian Movement, the Communist Party, the anti-war movement, and feminist movements.
The Patriot Act ( $2001$ / $2015$ ): - Put into place in $2001$ and amended in $2015$ . - It grants the state the power to collect metadata on Internet use, phone calls, texts, and Google searches.
Targeting of Arabs and Muslims: - This domestic surveillance hyper-focused on people of Middle Eastern descent. - Context: Israel advocacy groups and pro-Zionist forces successfully framed pro-Palestinian resistance (both armed and non-armed) as terrorism.
Torture and CIA Black Sites: - Abu Ghraib (Iraq): A prison near Baghdad where regular torture occurred, including physical beatings, electric shocks, sexual humiliation, psychological abuse, and mock executions. - Guantanamo Bay (Cuba): A prison site predating the revolution where techniques included waterboarding ( $\text{simulated drowning}$ ), sleep deprivation, forced stress positions, and the use of constant bright lights and loud music.
Domestic Surveillance of Muslims and Arabs in the US: - Under the Patriot Act, Middle Eastern immigrants were forced to register; over $13,000$ faced deportation proceedings despite having no terrorist links. - Immigration violations were often framed in "terroristic language" to create a racist link between Middle Eastern descent and terrorism. - The NYPD: The New York Police Department’s budget is larger than the military budget of North Korea. The NYPD established surveillance around mosques and immigrant communities, occasionally using entrapment tactics.

Conclusion: War and the Body Politic

War effort typically leads to the criminalization of individuals at home based on ethnic or religious descent.
Historical Parallel - Japanese Internment: During World War II, Japanese Americans (including those who were multi-generational Americans) were stripped of their credibility as citizens and placed in internment camps based on their descent.
Deepa Kumar illustrates how the post- $9/11$ moment created "scar tissue" in the body politic by cementing the relationship between foreign war and domestic surveillance.