Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Veterans
Related: About this forumImperial Overreach: Forces Driving Pentagon Spending and US Asia-Pacific Military Strategies
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/15821-imperial-overreach-forces-driving-pentagon-spending-and-us-asia-pacific-military-strategiesImperial Overreach: Forces Driving Pentagon Spending and US Asia-Pacific Military Strategies
Friday, 19 April 2013 00:00
By Dr Joseph Gerson, Truthout | Op-Ed
~snip~
Unfortunately, US citizens have not been sufficiently alert, knowledgeable or powerful to contain the influence of the military-industrial-Congressional complex. Instead, adjusted for inflation, Pentagon spending has grown from just over $300 billion in 1960 to today's post-Cold War $711 billion.
What does the Pentagon's base budget, excluding funding for actual wars, purchase? On an annual basis it pays for an estimated 1,000 foreign military bases costing at least $170 billion, depending on how you count; preparing for nuclear war at $60 billion; 1,419,000 warriors at $136 billion; new weapons and weapons systems for $114 billion; research and development at $61 billion; and new construction, military family housing and much much more.
In fact, we don't know how much the Pentagon really spends. Estimates, including "black box" secret budgets, run as high as a trillion dollars. The Pentagon concedes that it cannot account for hundreds of billions of dollars, and in desperation, one member of Congress has introduced legislation (doomed to fail) requiring an audit of Pentagon spending.
In addition to the imperial imperative of ensuring that the United States has the weapons needed to enforce "full spectrum dominance" - from modernized nuclear warheads and drones to cyber warfare and Prompt Global Strike (an effort to deliver a conventional weapon strike anywhere in the world within one hour) - two other dynamics have been at play: military Keynesianism and the armament industry's cunning strategy of subcontracting new weapons systems' production to a majority of Congressional districts.
unhappycamper comment: There is a reason for all the obfuscation around the DoD budget and what things actually cost:
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
2 replies, 2251 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (1)
ReplyReply to this post
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Imperial Overreach: Forces Driving Pentagon Spending and US Asia-Pacific Military Strategies (Original Post)
unhappycamper
Apr 2013
OP
haikugal
(6,476 posts)1. Wasn't this supposed
to get better in 2008? WTF???
newfie11
(8,159 posts)2. Disgusting
Is anyone in control of this? I would bet no one knows all that's going on. We know what happens to whistle blowers so the money and wars will continue.