Josh Hawley Calls Out Joe Biden’s Secretary of Defense for Supporting Never-Ending Wars
Josh Hawley is gradually turning into one of the Senate’s most underrated voices of foreign policy restraint in the Senate.
Ever since presumptive president-elect Joe Biden nominated Retired General Lloyd Austin as Secretary of Defense, Hawley has expressed his opposition to this pick.
He tweeted, “The Forever War caucus will love this pick.”
The Forever War caucus will love this pick https://t.co/DW5WefGsOP
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) December 8, 2020
Austin has an extensive military career and is a media darling for being the first African American of United States Central Command (CENTCOM) and was responsible for commanding American forces in Iraq.
Like many decorated generals, Austin had a smooth transition into the military-industrial complex and has enjoyed a lucrative private sector career that most Americans would envy.
Danny Sjursen of Antiwar.com spilled the beans on Austin’s private sector background, which should lead us to believe that he will be in favor of keeping never-ending wars in place:
The real trouble, as with the entire Biden bunch, is what Gen. Austin did after leaving government. And it’s pretty grotesque. In addition to opening his own strategic consulting firm, within months of retirement Austin joined the board of Raytheon Technologies, a top-tier defense contractor. He also sits on the boards of Nucor (the largest steel producer in the US), Tenet Healthcare, and the Carnegie Corporation. The Endowment for International Peace think tank that’s generously backed by Carnegie receives additional funding from ten separate war-related government and corporate contractor agencies – including United Technologies, which, wouldn’t you know, merged with Raytheon seven months ago.
Hawley followed up in a tweet on December 8, 2020, calling out Biden’s nominee by highlighting the fact that Biden praises Austin’s focus on the Middle East while ignoring China’s geopolitical machinations:
An entire essay from Joe Biden on who he wants to be Secretary of Defense that starts with Iraq, mentions Syria at some length, and says absolutely ZERO about #China https://t.co/1LJ7Udw5IS
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) December 8, 2020
Unlike the D.C. foreign policy blob, Hawley is able to recognize that America’s Middle Eastern conflicts have been an unmitigated disaster. If the U.S. is to be involved anywhere, it should be East Asia, where it can proactively work with its partners in the region to create a balancing coalition to keep China in check.
At this point, there is no need for another disastrous never-ending war.
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