Derek and Danny are joined by Bill Hartung and Ben Freeman to discuss the system that drives permanent war for the United States.
They talk about the growth of the Pentagon budget and the bipartisan politics of defense spending; the US’s dominating the global arms trade and the prevalence of US weapons around the world; the rise of defense tech companies and the relationship between Silicon Valley and the Pentagon; the structure of defense lobbying, foreign government lobbying for arms sales, and how contractors benefit; think tank funding; Pentagon involvement in Hollywood and gaming; and public opinion, the national debt, and whether structural change is possible.
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