John Rachel's America's Hijacked Peace Dividend: Long Overdue and Immediately Payable is a fiery, uncompromising indictment of American militarism and a bold call for economic justice. To understand the necessity of this book, one must first look at the sheer scale of the waste it confronts. According to the Brown University Costs of War Project, through Fiscal Year 2022, the U.S. federal government had already spent and obligated a staggering $8 trillion on the post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. This astronomical cost in treasure is matched only by the immeasurable cost in blood and environmental catastrophe left in the wake of decades of endless war, including the tragic loss of thousands of American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of foreign civilians.
In the aftermath of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, there were widespread calls for a ramping down of military expenditures and a stocktaking of national priorities. With the existential threat of the USSR eliminated, American citizens were promised a "peace dividend-- "a windfall of redirected funds that would be invested into education, infrastructure, parks, and a better life for all. Instead of this long-awaited payout, the military budget substantially increased for 25 of the next 34 years. The peace dividend never arrived.
No sooner had the conversation of a peace dividend resurfaced in recent years than the global stage was plunged into new conflicts. The Russia-Ukraine imbroglio began and continues to this day, consuming billions in U.S. military aid, risking nuclear confrontation, and derailing hopes of a peacetime economy. Just as that conflict showed the strain of a long stalemate and moved toward an inevitable ceasefire, the October 7 attacks happened, and the genocidal war in Gaza took up subsequent years. Not satisfied with the ongoing devastation in Palestine, the Israelis, fully backed by the U.S., sought to keep the fighting going by escalating tensions and attacking Iran, ostensibly for the purpose of establishing regional hegemony. Through all of this, the military-industrial complex continues to profit while everyday citizens foot the bill.
Against this backdrop, Rachel's book serves as a vital rallying cry. While a largely solo manifesto, the text echoes and explicitly cites the work of several prominent thinkers and activists who argue against the imperial machine. Rachel draws upon the insights of historical figures like Marine General Smedley Butler (anti-imperialism), alongside contemporary voices such as Jeffrey Sachs (diplomacy), Dan Kovalik (Palestine), Julian Assange (truth), and Chris Hedges (anti-authoritarianism). Together, their perspectives help Rachel paint a picture of a U.S. foreign policy totally untethered from the needs of the American people.
To explain how America reached this point, the book addresses several crucial questions about our global strategy. First, Rachel points to the 1992 Wolfowitz Doctrine as the cornerstone of American global military strategy. This doctrine is a policy of unilateralism and pre-emptive military action designed to suppress potential threats and prevent the emergence of any rival superpower. This aggressive posture guarantees perpetual confrontation because it essentially demands the subjugation of all other nations.
To reverse this, Rachel proposes demanding our stolen money back, though he clearly identifies the main obstacle: the "establishment politicians" and "neocon fanatics" who are in the deep pockets of the defense industry and Wall Street. These wealthy elites and corporate contractors will vigorously oppose any decrease in their power and profits.
Undeterred, Rachel calculates the exact amount settled on for the peace dividend: $9.12 trillion, which equates to a refund of $27,522 for every single living U.S. citizen. How does this dividend promote peace? The strategy is brilliantly simple: "starve the beast." By draining the federal vault to pay out the refund directly to the people, the government is left with no money to fund unnecessary wars, procure redundant weapons like the F-35, or maintain 700+ military bases worldwide.
In conclusion, Rachel's intention is both noble and urgently necessary. He successfully articulates the profound frustration of a populace tired of being treated as an ATM for the military-industrial complex. However, readers should approach the proposed solution with a caution to expectations. While the idea of a $27,522 refund check is an appealing mechanism to halt the war machine, the dividend Rachel suggests seems highly impractical in the current political climate of shrinking government. Passing such radical legislation is a monumental challenge in an era defined by deeply entrenched corporate interests. However, this book continues to be a captivating and thought-provoking read, prompting us to scrutinize the actual cost of empire and the peace we have yet to achieve.
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John Rachel has a B.A. in Philosophy, is a novelist and established political blogger. He has written ten novels. His 500+ political pieces have appeared at Counterpunch, Dissident Voice, Nation of Change, Greanville Post, OpEdNews, and other alternative media outlets.
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