Read our editorial on the growing reactionization of the US
On October 18, the US Marine Corps fired live artillery rounds over California Interstate 5 near Base Camp Pendleton while commemorating the 250th anniversary of the branch. Due to the military having no plans to shut down the highway, traffic was halted only hours before the demonstration as state transportation officials were made aware of practice firings on the evening before along with a request from event organizers for signs along the highway reading “overhead fire in progress.”
I-5 is one of the busiest roadways in the US, serving as the main thoroughfare between Los Angeles and San Diego. The impromptu closing caused massive back ups, with 17 miles of the highway closed for several hours. Marine officials insisted there was nothing unsafe about the exercise, and that it was unnecessary to disrupt traffic on Interstate 5.
During the exercise—which also included a demonstration of an amphibious beach assault—an artillery round fired from a marine vessel exploded prematurely over the highway. Shrapnel from the shell rained down on two vehicles belonging to the California Highway Patrol, causing slight damage. No injuries were reported. One of the vehicles belonged to the security detail of Vice President J.D. Vance, who attended the event, along with Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth. The Marines canceled the exercise after receiving word of the premature detonation.
Democrat mafia Governor Gavin Newsom—along with other state officials—made various statements condemning the incident and asserting that the exercise was an act of intimidation against the Trump administration’s political opponents. The event took place on the same day as the Democrat-led countrywide “No Kings” parades despite the Marine Corp anniversary being November 10. The show of force highlights the deepening contradictions between the two party mafias regarding their fundamental collusion on how to best serve the interests of the ruling class amid its economic crisis.
More significantly, the military display and its recklessness show the antagonistic nature of the US military against the people of the US and around the world. The US has increasingly militarized itself in response to its deepening economic crisis as wealth and power concentrate in fewer hands and in direct antagonism to the vastly increasing concentration of misery among the masses. Such military shows of force have become increasingly common as the US ruling class aims to protect its domination as the sole hegemonic imperialist power through intimidation and brute force. These have taken increasingly direct and confrontational forms, such as its lethal maneuvers in the waters around Latin America and the parading of federal forces and the national guard in California and DC as part of its immigration terror raids.
Image: Screenshot from Marine Corps 250th Artillery Demonstration Video.
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