Yes, war is a business. You’ve seen it before. The US invades, and then they withdraw. Remember Afghanistan, that war was an absolute disaster. But it was a jackpot for American defence contractors. And now, with the wars in Gaza and Ukraine, they are making even more money, even though there are hardly any US troops on the ground. The war profiteers always win, regardless of the outcome.
Even as America’s global influence wanes, its war machine keeps growing stronger. American defence contractors helped build the modern military-industrial complex, and their model is so profitable that it doesn’t matter how many lives are lost in the process. The military-industrial complex plays the central role in shaping American foreign policy. It is the designer of US foreign policy. And this business model works. In 2023, US defence contractors generated nearly a trillion dollars in revenue, a record $765 billion of which came directly from government contracts.
With so much profit at stake, US defence companies have great influence over how these wars and their objectives are framed. These companies say, “What we do saves lives. It protects peace and democracy around the world”.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. The United States government is the leading force of instability, violence and environmental destruction, according to Abby Martin, an investigative journalist and the creator of the Empire Files, an independent media outlet that dissects the inner workings of the U.S. Empire.
When the U.S. votes to send military aid abroad, like to Israel or Ukraine, most of that money goes to American arms manufacturers. Whether it is used to fund new weapons or restocking those sent from the US reserves, it basically serves as a form of corporate sponsorship for defence companies. It fuels the conflicts. Look at Gaza and Ukraine.
Today, just five US companies dominate the entire global defence industry. The shares of Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics have exploded. Their profits were massive in 2023 and 2024. And why? Because of these horrific catastrophic wars. Their shareholders made huge profits from these wars. The year after Russia’s initial invasion of Ukraine, General Dynamics’ share price rose by almost 34%. A year after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel, Lockheed Martin saw its share price rise by over 54%. And, of course, the other big contractors have also benefited in their own way. These companies are not just making money. They have become too powerful to stop.
The United States is the global arms supplier. The USA supplies almost 50% of all weapons in the world. There is no other country that parallels the military power and entrenchment of this kind of military-industrial complex, other than the US empire. And this kind of dominance doesn’t just mean influence. It means that they profit from almost every major conflict on earth.
And that’s no accident. It’s by design. Take NATO, for example. Back in the 1990s, U.S. companies lobbied hard for the expansion of NATO. Not only for security reasons, but also to open up new markets for their business. Whenever a new member state joined NATO, they were required to modernize their military assets, usually by buying American weapons. And it worked. Today, the US supplies about two-thirds of NATO’s weapons.
Take Ukraine, for example. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, demand has skyrocketed. In 2024 alone, sales of US military equipment to foreign governments increased by 29% hitting a record $319 billion. The US provides billions of dollars in military aid to countries like Egypt, Israel, Ukraine and Uganda, but it comes with conditions. This so-called aid from the US government often requires countries to spend that money on US weapons. And they profit from every bullet and bomb that’s dropped.
And when tensions escalate again, Congress fast tracks more funding. And the cycle continues. So the US aid is basically a subsidy to American defence companies, with no real end in sight. And that means that US companies supplying their allies are making an unlimited profit. Since 2001, the US has spent nearly $14 trillion on war.
The military-industrial complex is not in the business of winning wars. The USA is not interested in winning the war in Afghanistan. Even after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, the defence budget has not shrunk. In fact, it increased by almost 14 per cent in the three years after the end of the war. That’s because the defence companies always win. There always has to be another threat on the horizon. Communism, terrorism, environmentalism, China, etc. There always has to be a threat to justify this massive spending. And now the US is dealing with a trillion-dollar defence budget.
But the defence budget is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, these arms manufacturers spend so much money and employ hundreds of lobbyists, but it’s not just that. In fact, 80 per cent of the experts who have testified before Congress are paid by weapons manufacturers to lobby on their behalf. The defence industry hires lobbyists to appear on the Hill pretending to be independent experts. They lobby Congress to keep wars going. And then some of them even help wage those wars from inside the Pentagon itself. Not to mention that former high-ranking military officers who retire often sit on the boards of the big five. So yeah, the line between the US military and for-profit defence contractors is becoming more blurred by the day.
Along with the US and Russia, China, now a superpower, is the new kid in town, drawing attention with its modern fighter planes, missiles, ships, drones, etc., which have proved their combat prowess in the recent India-Pakistan conflict, and the warring nations around the world now have the option to counter Western weapons with new Chinese weapons and technologies.
I guess America’s (the world’s policeman) silence on the Indo-Naga issue is because the conflict is insignificant for making any major profit out of it and Washington cannot afford to upset New Delhi and lose the Indian market over the Naga issue even if India is guilty of human rights and international law violations.
But no matter how valid or what the reasons are: War is ugly, and the real cost comes to those who live where the bombs fall and the bullets fly. Not only in Gaza and Ukraine, but also in Africa, India and Pakistan, China and Taiwan, North and South Korea, the profiteers are the same. After all, war is a business, and business is booming. Kuknalim.
R. Francis Kikon.
Naharbari, Dimapur.
Tuesday, July 22, 2025