Defense Spending Insanity

Defense Spending Insanity

The Defense Budget is out of Control. Of all the issues facing our country, spending money on "Defense" should not be on the top of the list. The word "Defense" is misleading in itself, because we are spending money on "Offense" not "Defense." I have heard the phrase "the best defense is a good offense". Quaint and earthy that phrase, but we are not going toe to toe with a world threatening menace with millions of troops and armed with state of the art weapons and technology. We are in fact securing resources and geo-political dominance in the region and at the same time lining the pockets of "Defense Contractors".

We are currently involved in Iraq, a country hamstrung from almost twenty years of war, sanctions and occupation. The reasons we invaded were fabricated and through the collusion of the media, religious and social institutions, and a corrupt administration, we committed the worst crime known to man. The crime is called Aggressive War, as defined in the Nuremberg Principles and the UN Charter. This aggressive war was for oil. Oil and the no bid contracts that went with the invasion made the flag wave and blood flow. When two oil men run a country controlled by large corporations and a Defense establishment armed to the teeth, someone is going to get hurt. Iraq was the target.

We are currently involved in Afghanistan, the poorest country in the world and home of the Taliban, a creation of our policy in the region since the Eighties and Pakistan's policy since the Nineties. What do we hope to accomplish in Afghanistan? After eight years, Osama bin Laden, the alleged mastermind of the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon is still lurking in the mountains, still lurking in our fearful minds. The Taliban grows stronger and the puppet regime we installed grows weaker. A regime that is structured to "unite" a "country" made up of factional tribes, warlords, drug peddlers, bandits and simple mountain herders and farmers. But the outcome is not important in terms of the people of the United States or the people of Afghanistan. Zbigniew Brzezinski's book, The Grand Chessboard foretold of our involvement in Central Asia and how our dominance depended on it. The journey is just as important as the destination. Everyday we occupy Afghanistan millions of dollars are deposited into the accounts of Defense Contractors. Contractors who don't put the interests of US servicemen and women first.

The new administration, and the Congress are for the most part continuing these policies. This is reflected in the growing Defense budget, and it's projected growth over the next ten years. I would rather grow tomatoes than hemlock, but I am not in the murder business. Somebody is and they have the ear of our government, not us.

One last little note, after TRILLIONS of dollars in defense spending since the 1950s, when we were actually attacked, our massive infrastructure of radar and interceptors failed. No one ever mentions that. Well almost no one.