By Ron Paul
Why does it seem the Pentagon is far better at spending money than actually putting together a successful operation? The failed “Operation Prosperity Guardian” and the disastrous floating Gaza pier are but two recent examples of enormously expensive initiatives that, though they no-doubt enriched military contractors, were incapable of meeting their stated goals. To great fanfare, last December the Pentagon announced the launch of Operation Prosperity Guardian, a joint US/UK military operation to halt the Yemeni Houthi disruption of Israel-linked commercial shipping through the Red Sea. The Houthis announced their policy in response to civilian deaths in Israel’s war on Gaza, but when the US and UK military became involved they announced they would target US and UK shipping as well. The operation was supposed to be quick and easy. After all, the rag-tag Houthi militia was no match for the mighty US and UK navies. But it didn’t work out that way at all. Over the weekend the Wall Street Journal published a devastating article revealing that after spending more than one billion dollars on munitions alone, the operation had failed to deter the Houthis and failed to re-open commercial shipping in the Red Sea. The Journal reported that Avril Haines, the director of national intelligence, recently told Congress that “the U.S.-led effort has been insufficient to deter the militant group’s targeting of ships and that the threat will ‘remain active for some time.’” Meanwhile, the article informed us that a continued US effort to fight the Houthis over Red Sea shipping was “not sustainable.” Perhaps the most revealing part of the article comes from a Washington military expert, Emily Harding of CSIS: “Their supply of weapons from Iran is cheap and highly sustainable, but ours is expensive, our supply chains are crunched, and our logistics tails are long.” It is reminiscent of a recollection by Col. Harry G. Summers of a discussion he had with North Vietnamese Col. Tu: “You know, you never defeated us on the battlefield,” said Summers. Tu paused for a moment, then replied, “That may be so. But it is also irrelevant.” Similarly, the US military spent a quarter of a billion dollars building a temporary floating pier to deliver aid to the starving Palestinians even though a land route already existed and would have been far cheaper to use. The project was doomed from the beginning, as days after opening stormy weather broke up the pier and washed part of it up on Israel’s shore. The US military managed to gather the pieces together again, but in total only a few aid trucks managed to use it before, over the weekend, the pier was again disassembled for fear of another weather-related break-up. The only thing the pier was good for, it seems, was assisting the Israeli military in a Gaza raid on June 8th that killed 270 Palestinian civilians. As neocons inside the Beltway continue to plot war with China over Taiwan, it seems someone should notice the trouble we have had dealing with Houthis and floating piers. For now, the growth in military spending seems unlimited, but increasing spending bringing diminishing results raises the question of just how much bang are we getting for our bucks? We have the most expensive military on earth, they say. That may be true, but it is also irrelevant.
This year's National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) has a little surprise for males between 18-26 in the US: Automatic registration for the military draft! As the US moves closer to war with Russia, will a new generation of Americans say, "hell no, we won't go"? Also today: NATO claims to have placed half a million troops on "high readiness" for war with Russia. Finally...the US and EU have agreed to steal $50 billion from Russia's frozen assets to give to Ukraine...as a loan! What could possibly go wrong?
Graham Summers joins us today to discuss his new book: Into The Abyss.
Amazon link: https://a.co/d/9J1wjqp 
Faced with broad outrage after a US government-linked Ukrainian NGO published an "enemies list" containing the names of several Members and Senators, the US House GOP moved yesterday to ban any further funding to the NGO. But...they will leave the rest of the funding for Ukraine intact. That's DC partisan smoke and mirrors for you. Also today: NATO's insane F-16 plan for Ukraine - will it spark WWIII?
As Ukraine continues to run out of soldiers, the US government has just announced that it will lift the US ban on sending arms to a Ukrainian military unit notorious for its embrace of symbols from Nazi era Germany. The State Department claims that the group is reformed and thus acceptable for the US to support. Does this smack of desperation? Also today: follow up from the TEXTY "enemies list" in Ukraine.
Tech entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan burst into the American political scene when Robert F. Kennedy, Jr announced her as his running mate in what may be the most significant third-party run in recent memory. She joins today's Liberty Report to discuss the ideas that animate her campaign and the hurdles faced by "outsiders" in the duopoly called the American political system.
The USAID and State Department-affiliated Ukrainian NGO "TEXTY" has just released an "enemies list" of hundreds of prominent Americans, including Ron Paul, Rand Paul, Donald Trump, the Ron Paul Institute, Tucker Carlson, and many more. Should Americans be forced to pay money to fund foreign NGOs that threaten American citizens? Also today: The US military participated in a deadly Gaza raid that killed nearly 300 civilians. Finally: Rep. Thomas Massie spills the beans on AIPAC's influence on the Hill.
By Ron Paul
American Compass, a think tank promoting a conservatism lacking even a rhetorical commitment to free markets, recently called for Republicans to support tax increases. The organization claims a GOP embrace of higher taxes will enable the uniparty’s left (Democratic) and right (Republican) wings to create a deficit reduction plan balancing tax increase with spending cuts. American Compass is correct that both parties need to prioritize deficit reduction. The 35 trillion dollars (and rising) national debt is a big threat to prosperity and liberty in America. However, history shows that any “bipartisan” agreement to raise taxes and cut spending results in higher taxes and higher spending. The classic example is the deal President Reagan made with congressional Democrats to cut spending by three dollars for every dollar in tax increases. Congress eagerly authorized the higher taxes and then disregarded its promise to cut spending. The only “cuts” most members of Congress will agree to do are “reductions in the projected growth of future spending,” while Congress regularly uses “emergency” spending bills to violate “spending caps.” The Biden administration and the then Democratic controlled Congress increased taxes on many Americans in 2022 when they expanded the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in order to crack down on “wealthy tax cheats.” As many predicted, the expanded IRS began using its new resources to target middle-class taxpayers, who cannot afford to pay lawyers and accountants to help them maneuver through the tax code and thus are likely to just write a check for whatever the IRS demands. Middle- and working-class Americans are also the main victims of the Federal Reserve’s hidden inflation tax. This tax will keep increasing as long as the government’s reckless spending forces the Fed to monetize ever higher levels of government debt. Anti-tax conservatives and all who value individual liberty and peace should join the movement to audit and then end the Federal Reserve. Instead of “negotiating” over what taxes to increase, conservatives should join with antiwar libertarians to immediately demand cuts in warfare spending. America cannot afford to waste billions of dollars that serve no purpose other than enriching the military-industrial complex. Congress should then shut down all unnecessary federal agencies including the NSA, TSA, FBI, DEA, CIA, and Department of Education. The money saved from these cuts should be used to protect those dependent on federal welfare and entitlement programs as those programs are phased out. Responsibility for providing aid can then be transferred back to private charities, churches, and community-based organizations. Private, locally controlled organizations can more efficiently and compassionately provide care to the needy than can a large government bureaucracy. Government deficits are a symptom of the abandonment of the moral truths of individual rights and limited government for the immoral lies of the welfare-warfare state and the fiat money system that underlies it. Therefore, fiscal conservatives will never succeed in limiting government spending unless they join with libertarians in seeking to restore the understanding that the prohibition against force and fraud applies to government as well as private individuals. If you cannot use force or fraud against your neighbor to provide for yourself, your family and friends, or the Ukraine army, then neither can the government. The prohibition against fraud also applies to the legalized counterfeiting undertaken by central banking.
When Americans look outward, they don't see foreign military bases circling the nation. No occupying troops. No one is sending missiles to Mexico or Canada that can be fired into U.S. territory. And yet, America’s foreign policy is the exact opposite. Endless wars with 800+ military bases peppered all over the world, surrounding major nuclear powers like Russia and China. The U.S. sends Ukraine weapons to be fired into Russian territory! Pushed too far, Russia is now sending warships and an unarmed nuclear submarine to Cuba. Why is our government unnecessarily putting our lives into grave danger?
US House candidate Stewart Jones joins today's Liberty Report to share his thoughts on how respect for liberty and the Constitution can be restored to the House of Representatives.
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