By Matt Agorist

Retired U.S. Air Force Lt. Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski recently offered pertinent insight in aninterview with RT about why Russia continues to be so vilified by the Pentagon and American media alike:

The Pentagon needs and wants Russia to be the next big enemy that they are arming against it, budgeting against it, that they are targeting. Certainly, we have talked for a long time about China and China plays an important role as the enemy of choice for the U.S. military. But Russia is ideal in part, because we don’t import a lot of things from Russia, in part because we don’t have the debt relationship with Russia that we do with China. So, Russia makes for a very convenient enemy for the Pentagon in terms of its mission, its budgeting, and its intelligence organization.

In a press conference this week, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter backed up the whistleblowing Lt. Col. as he touted the US Military’s 2016 Posture Statement. In the statement, the US declares Russia the largest threat in the world.

Despite terror attacks and threats by ISIS across the West, including inside America, the Pentagon has declared Russia a greater threat. In fact, Russia, China, North Korea, and laughably Iran — all countries who have done nothing to the US — are considered greater threat than the Islamic State.

Continuing in her interview with RT, which was prior to the release of the Posture Statement, Lt. Col. Kwiatkowski explained exactly why these psychopaths are beating the war drum with the world’s top military super powers — money.

“The Pentagon needs that kind of enemy,” Kwiatkowski continued. “And [U.S. Secretary of Defense] Ashton Carter, if you listen to what he says continually — even from the beginning of time he was put in office — his job is fundraising, just like the university president’s job is not education but rather fundraising. Ashton Carter’s job is also fundraising, and he fundraises through this process of identifying, pushing, and delivering up an enemy that will justify their budgets.”

Shortly after Carter dangerously declared Russia to be public enemy number one, Obama, the Noble Laureate for peace, responded in the same manner.

Though Russia couldn’t be mistaken for an angel, the military and White House’s ostensible fears appear largely bloated and mostly artificial as they have helped to snub out ISIS, and done absolutely nothing to the US — up to an including irresponsible saber rattling.

American actions will inevitably only serve to bring the Russo-Sino strategic military alliance into closer consultation with one another in an attempt to stem U.S. global imperialism.

While this may be splendid news for defense contractors and weapons manufacturers, it’s extremely dangerous news for the rest of the world. One strategic miscalculation could result in events spiraling drastically out of control.

Matt Agorist is the co-founder of TheFreeThoughtProject.com, where this article first appeared. He is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Follow @MattAgorist