President Trump is very, very good at traversing the world and raising funds for the America’s defense industry.  The most notable, perhaps, was the deal announced after Trump’s Saudi Arabia visit in which Trump trotted out a US$110 billion sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  This is not the only arms sale win for Trump: combat aircraft for Bahrain and light aircraft to Nigeria could be counted into Trump’s arms sales successes.

In addition, Trump’s administration has prioritized arms sales and mandate that America’s diplomatic corps focuses on arms sales as a part of their daily duties.  Add to that a whopping US$80 billion in the FMS (Foreign Military Sales) program, and you get the hint that Trump has placed a major emphasis on support of America’s military arms manufacturers.

Yet it doesn’t stop there.

Trump is also heavily focused on having allies “pay their fair share”.  To this end, Trump has focused on having NATO countries contribute to alliances self defense, an effort that some estimate has resulted in NATO countries increasing defense spending by some US$69 billion.

Of course, that increase in sales trickles into US coffers.

And then comes the arm twisting, a near mafia mentality wherein Trump’s negotiators have told the Japanese and the S. Koreans to increase the cost of “protection”, or the housing of US troops on their respective soils, by some 400%.

As you might expect, S. Korea and Japan are balking at such “offers”.

What is certain is that America houses an enormous number of personnel overseas.  It is estimated that the United States has some 200K troops deployed in 800 bases located in 177 countries..

There are only 193 nations in the United Nations.  That means that the United States is deployed across 91% of the nations of the planet.

Nothing says “empire” than that, and nothing says “mafia” more than demanding nations “pay more for their defense”, like by 400%!

ITEL Radio Full Show – 11.16.19