{"id":319864,"date":"2025-12-12T10:00:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T10:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=319864"},"modified":"2025-12-14T09:23:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-14T09:23:35","slug":"new-york-times-wants-the-us-military-built-up-for-war-with-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=319864","title":{"rendered":"New York Times Wants the US Military Built Up for War with China"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Caitlin Johnstone \u2013 Caitlin\u2019s Newsletter Dec 10, 2025<\/strong><\/h1>\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OXFVhSM8rwQ?si=HzLM8oxo3SYiLq2M\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/OXFVhSM8rwQ\">Video Link<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Just as the United States hits its first official <a href=\"https:\/\/news.antiwar.com\/2025\/12\/08\/congress-prepares-to-pass-ndaa-that-will-give-trump-his-1-trillion-military-budget\/\">trillion-dollar annual military budget<\/a>, the New York Times editorial board has published an article which argues that the US is going to need to increase military funding to prepare for a major war with China.<\/p>\n<p>The article is titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/YKPgU\">Overmatched: Why the U.S. Military Must Reinvent Itself<\/a>,\u201d and to be clear it is an editorial, not an op-ed, meaning it represents the position of the newspaper itself rather than solely that of the authors.<\/p>\n<p>This will come as no surprise to anyone who knows that The New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/fair.org\/home\/nyt-laments-forever-wars-its-editorials-helped-create\/\">has supported every American war<\/a> throughout its entire history, because The New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.caitlinjohnst.one\/p\/the-new-york-times-is-a-disgusting\">is a war propaganda firm<\/a> disguised as a news outlet. But it is surprising how brazen they are about it in this particular case.<\/p>\n<p>The article opens with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/equalityAlec\/status\/1998220152786293000\">graphics<\/a> I saw one commenter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lukeisamazing\/status\/1998394387861246038\">describe<\/a> as \u201cMussolini-core\u201d because of their conspicuously fascistic aesthetic, accompanied by three lines of text in all-caps which reads as follows:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">\u201cAMERICA\u2019S MILITARY HAS DEFENDED THE FREE WORLD FOR 80 YEARS.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">OUR DOMINANCE IS FADING.<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\">RIVALS KNOW THIS AND ARE BUILDING TO DEFEAT US.\u201d<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">they get mad when you say \u201cyou scratch a liberal and a fascist bleeds\u201d and then the NYT publishes Mussolini-core <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/VA6orRsoql\">https:\/\/t.co\/VA6orRsoql<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 the thicc husband &amp; father (@lukeisamazing) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lukeisamazing\/status\/1998394387861246038?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The narrative that the US war machine has \u201cdefended the free world\u201d during its period of post-world war global dominance is itself insane empire propaganda. Washington has <a href=\"https:\/\/globalinequality.org\/imperial-power\/\">abused, tyrannized and starved<\/a> the world at levels unrivaled by any other power during that period while spearheading the theft of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/opinions\/2021\/5\/6\/rich-countries-drained-152tn-from-the-global-south-since-1960\">hundreds of trillions of dollars<\/a> from the global south via imperialist extraction. The US empire has not been defending any \u201cfree world\u201d, it has been actively obstructing its emergence.<\/p>\n<p>The actual text of the article opens with another whopper, with the first sentence reading, \u201cPresident Xi Jinping of China has ordered his armed forces to be ready to seize Taiwan by 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This is straight-up state propaganda. The New York Times editorial board is here uncritically parroting a completely unsubstantiated claim the US intelligence cartel <a href=\"https:\/\/news.antiwar.com\/2025\/10\/20\/trump-says-china-doesnt-want-to-invade-taiwan\/\">has been making for years<\/a>, which Xi Jinping <a href=\"https:\/\/www.taiwannews.com.tw\/news\/5041031\">explicitly denies<\/a>. While it is Beijing\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/asia-pacific\/china-calls-taiwan-president-frontrunner-destroyer-peace-2023-12-31\/\">official position<\/a> that Taiwan will eventually be reunited with the mainland, not one shred of evidence has ever been presented to the public for the 2027 timeline. It\u2019s a US government assertion being reported as verified fact by the nation\u2019s \u201cpaper of record\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>And it doesn\u2019t get any better from there. The Times cites a Pentagon assessment that the US would lose a hot war with China over Taiwan as evidence of \u201ca decades-long decline in America\u2019s ability to win a long war with a major power,\u201d arguing that this is a major problem because \u201ca strong America has been crucial to a world in which freedom and prosperity are far more common than at nearly any other point in human history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is the first of a series of editorials examining what\u2019s gone wrong with the U.S. military\u200a\u2014\u200atechnologically, bureaucratically, culturally, politically and strategically\u200a\u2014\u200aand how we can create a relevant and effective force that can deter wars whenever possible and win them wherever necessary,\u201d The New York Times tells us.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">It\u2019s never enough for militarism mouthpieces like the NYT editorial board. The US spends more money on its military than the next 9 countries COMBINED yet we are somehow always \u201cbehind\u201d alleged existential enemies whose intrinsically sinister nature is simply taken for granted. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Cx9odMKblq\">https:\/\/t.co\/Cx9odMKblq<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lxJFj67ctt\">pic.twitter.com\/lxJFj67ctt<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Adam Johnson (@adamjohnsonCHI) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/adamjohnsonCHI\/status\/1998114653654720900?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 8, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Times argues that the US needs to reshape its military to defeat China in a war, or to win a war with Russia if they attack a NATO member, saying \u201cEvidence suggests that Moscow may already be testing ways to do this, including by cutting the undersea cables on which NATO forces depend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cevidence\u201d the Times cites for this claim is a hyperlink to a January article titled \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/9XAdA\">Norway Seizes Russian-Crewed Ship Suspected of Cutting an Undersea Cable<\/a>,\u201d completely ignoring the fact that Norway <a href=\"https:\/\/www.news.com.au\/breaking-news\/norway-seizes-russiancrewed-ship-over-suspected-cable-damage\/news-story\/f2c86694be63e65f32bb729e183c8063\">released that ship<\/a> shortly thereafter when it was unable to find any evidence linking it to the event, and completely ignoring <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/6S7G0\">reports<\/a> that US and European intelligence had concluded that the undersea cable damage was the result of an accident rather than sabotage.<\/p>\n<p>And then, of course, comes the call for more military funding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the short term, the transformation of the American military may require additional spending, primarily to rebuild our industrial base. As a share of the economy, defense spending today\u200a\u2014\u200aabout 3.4 percent of G.D.P.\u200a\u2014\u200aremains near its lowest level in more than 80 years, even after Mr. Trump\u2019s recent increases,\u201d the Times writes, adding that US allies should also be pressured to ramp up spending on the war machine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA more secure world will almost certainly require more military commitment from allies like Canada, Japan and Europe, which have long relied on American taxpayers to bankroll their protection,\u201d the authors write, saying \u201cChina\u2019s industrial capacity can only be met by pooling the resources of allies and partners around the world to balance and contain Beijing\u2019s increasing influence.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Of course the idea that perhaps the United States should avoid fighting a hot war with China right off the coast of its own mainland never enters the discussion. The suggestion that it\u2019s insane to support waging full-scale wars with nuclear-armed great powers to secure US planetary domination never comes up. It\u2019s just taken as a given that pouring wealth and resources into preparations for a nuclear-age world war is the only normal option on the table.<\/p>\n<p>But that\u2019s the New York Times for you. It\u2019s been <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Adolph_Ochs#Chattanooga_Times_and_The_New_York_Times\">run by the same family<\/a> since the late 1800s and it\u2019s been advancing the information interests of rich and powerful imperialists ever since. It\u2019s a militarist smut rag that somehow found its way into unearned respectability, and it deserves to be treated as such. The sooner it ceases to exist, the better.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">&#8212;<\/p>\n<p><em>My work is <a href=\"https:\/\/caitlinjohnstone.com\/2021\/05\/24\/my-experiments-with-hacking-capitalism\/\">entirely reader-supported<\/a>, so if you enjoyed this piece <a href=\"https:\/\/www.caitlinjohnst.one\/about\">here are some options<\/a> where you can toss some money into my tip jar if you want to. The best way to make sure you see everything I write is to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.caitlinjohnst.one\/\">get on my free mailing list<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/caitlinjohnstone.com\/\">Click here for links for my social media, books, merch, and audio\/video versions of each article<\/a>. All my work is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.caitlinjohnst.one\/p\/reminder-all-my-work-may-be-freely\">free to bootleg and use<\/a> in any way, shape or form; republish it, translate it, use it on merchandise; whatever you want. All works co-authored with my husband Tim Foley.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Bitcoin donations: 1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.caitlinjohnst.one\/p\/new-york-times-wants-the-us-military\">Source\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The New York Times is a war propaganda firm disguised as a news outlet. Caitlin Johnstone examines how it is preparing its readers for war with China <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":154074,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[78,61,25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-319864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-china","category-Commentary","category-The_Media"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=319864"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":319867,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319864\/revisions\/319867"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/154074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=319864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=319864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=319864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}