[Peace-discuss] The Mega Pentagon

[Brussel Morton K.]

A fundamental problem, for the world, discussed in detail by Frida  
Berrigan.

http://www.truthout.org/112608T

Happy Thanksgiving.  --mkb

    The Mega-Pentagon

     Under President George W. Bush, military spending increased by  
about 60%, and that's not including spending on the wars in Iraq and  
Afghanistan. Eight years ago, as Bush prepared to enter the Oval  
Office, military spending totaled just over $300 billion. When Obama  
sets foot in that same office, military spending will total roughly  
$541 billion, including the Pentagon's basic budget and nuclear  
warhead work in the Department of Energy.

     And remember, that's before the Global War on Terror enters the  
picture. The Pentagon now estimates that military operations in Iraq  
and Afghanistan will cost at least $170 billion in 2009, pushing  
total military spending for Obama's first year to about $711 billion  
(a number that is mind-bogglingly large and at the same time a  
relatively conservative estimate that does not, for example, include  
intelligence funding, veterans' care, or other security costs).

     With such numbers, it's no surprise that the United States is,  
by a multiple of nearly six, the biggest military spender in the  
world. (China's military budget, the closest competitor, comes in at  
a "mere" $120 billion.) Still, it can be startling to confront the  
simple fact that the U.S. alone accounts for nearly half of all  
global military spending - to be as exact as possible in such a murky  
area, 48% according to the International Institute for Strategic  
Studies. That's more than what the next 45 nations together spend on  
their militaries on an annual basis.

     Again, keep in mind that war spending for 2009 comes on top of  
the estimated $864 billion that lawmakers have, since 2001,  
appropriated for the Iraq war and occupation, ongoing military  
operations in Afghanistan, and other activities associated with the  
Global War on Terror. In fact, according to an October 2008 report by  
the Congressional Research Service, total war spending, quite apart  
from the regular military budget, is already at $922 billion and  
quickly closing in on the trillion dollar mark. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.chambana.net/mailman/archive/peace-discuss/attachments/20081127/e2d4a7cc/attachment.htm