It’s a time honored tradition for Defense Secretaries to complain about the budget caps imposed in 2011, even though Congress has literally never failed to circumvent those caps. James Mattis followed that trend of alarmism, but seemingly at the worst possible time.
Mattis claimed that budget uncertainty has him questioning “whether or not America has the ability to survive.” The US, of course, spends many-fold more on their military than any other nation, and annual budgets are always growing to new records.
Mattis’ comments come just 48 hours after the Senate overwhelmingly passed a $700 billion military spending bill, far exceeding what Mattis’ Pentagon sought, and far exceeding the even bigger figure sought by the president.
Indeed the only question that remains on the Senate bill is whether the House will ultimately outdo them even further. To the extent that there’s any question about the Pentagon’s budget, it’s merely at the top end, as Congress’ figure always falls somewhere in excess of the preposterous amounts requested by the White House, and somewhere slightly short of all the money the exists in the world.
When was the last time the Pentagon could pass an audit?
Has it ever been audited?
When you’re armed to the teeth – do you really care what some CPA has to say?
Bravo Jason. You may be right, as I am sure somebody is appraising Myanmar assets today, while crying crocodile tears over some miinority that thinks Uncle Sam will give them a country. All they gave to do us shoot up sime random people, a few unsuspecting military barracks — and when government strikes back at the ARMED secessionists, here we come with the threst against “regume”, and justify our nises bding stuck into their back yard. Calculatirs are running, as money for the new military ventures must be found.
The only way the US is going to survive is if the war mafia budget is slashed significantly.
probably about 1/2 or more and we will still be the highest military spenders in the world .. just balance the budget next year . don’t tell me you are going to it 10 years from now .
America’s seemingly endless ability to deficit spend is what allows it to keep its boot heel on the neck of the rest of the worlds. Hopefully, that will change soon.
It does not matter what the senate or even what the pentagon and the president asks for . Only the house can approve or authorize this money . Where is the tea party that wanted no more red ink . It is time for the democrats and all honest conservative republicans to put our government on a budget .That limits spending to the amount of money taken in . Stop talking about Trumps tax cuts and new spending . Lets think about paying what we owe and saving our country for the next generations ..
The pentagon maybe absolutely right on the idea of United States being able to survive is closely tied to our military budget . Only this time the more we spend the less chance we have of surviving ..
Perhaps the largest anti-war movement in the Western World ever sprang up after WW1. Its emblem was a broken rifle. As we know it failed.
Why? Because in every nation the hawks usually outnumber the doves. The more scared the hawks are the larger is the defense budget. Our hawks are pretty scared.
The time has come to stop blaming our congress which only does what the hawks of our nation want it to do.
Mattis is only voicing what the hawks want to hear.
And please do not equate the hawks with the so-called deep state. Our hawks exist in every stratum of our society.
If only somehow he could be right!!!!!
remember?
Sequestration “would destroy the military” and cause an “inability to
defend the nation” argued Senator John McCain, ranking member of the
Senate Armed Services committee.
“Cuts of this magnitude would be catastrophic to the military,”
testified General Raymond Odierno, the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army,
to Congress. “From a pure national security perspective, the gap
between the U.S. military and our closest rivals will collapse with
sequestration,” wrote the Washington Times.
And it would create a U.S. military akin to a “paper tiger…unable to
keep up with potential adversaries,” said Secretary of Defense Leon
Panetta. “In effect, it invites aggression.