With officials constantly looking for new ways to add even more spending to the Pentagon’s annual budget, all the while griping about the spending caps they never respect in the first place, the House Armed Services Committee is laying out a ridiculously expensive scheme to “reboot” the entire military.
Panel members insist that 15 years of non-stop war has, despite that same period being loaded with record budgets, pushed the military to its limit, and that the new plan is needed, which will take a decade and cost an addition $1 trillion, above and beyond the already massive amounts being spent.
Hawks on the panel insist that the massive new scheme is needed because the military is “unready” to fight a major war with either Russia or China, despite the $1 trillion by itself likely to be well more than either nation spends in that time.
This trillion dollars easily breaks the budget on already prohibitively high military spending, and it’s just one of many schemes likely to be adopted. The “modernization” scheme for nuclear weapons is similarly expected to get into trillions of dollars, and will be running in parallel with this, and of course with all the ongoing wars and those liable to be launched since then, pushing the military’s actually budget closer to a trillion dollars on an annual basis.
A SUPER POWER needs a SUPER budget time to upgrade or military hardware or NUCLEAR weapons program and our cyber capabilities.It cost to be the boss…USA
What?
If the US cut its military budget by 90% tomorrow, it would still be the first or second largest military spender on the planet (depending on what China does in any given year).
But I’m prepared to be reasonable and compromise. Cutting US military spending by 75% over ten years sounds about right.
I agree, wholeheartedly
I digress on this issue, EAGLE. A superpower does NOT need a super budget to upgrade military hardware or nuclear weapons and cyber capabilities. As it is, the US has WASTED far too much money on weapons and military hardware that is USELESS. The most prominent example is the F-35 fighter jet. Over $1 TRILLION was wasted on this turkey; yet, it still isn’t battle ready. Besides engine problems, the F-35 have glitches in its software and its ejection seats. The USS Destroyer Donald Cook has had its electronics jammed by Russian SU-25 jets’ jamming system TWICE, while cruising in the Black Sea.
Yes, the US defense budget outpaces those of 26 nations COMBINED; however, such a bloated budget hasn’t kept the US as the sole superpower. China and Russia have outpaced the US in both sophisticated weaponry, as well as military hardware; yet, their defense budget doesn’t come even close to that of the US.
Russia’s military is far better trained and disciplined than that of the US. Russia has both men and women in its military; however, she has NO LGBT personnel in it; neither does China.
As Thomas Knapp said; even if the US were to cut her military budget by 90% tomorrow, she’d still be the first or second military spender on the planet (depending on what China does in any given year).
This idiocy needs to stop. And the only way to stop it is to remove the people in Congress who advocate endless war. Surely there are peace candidates out there willing to NOT succumb to the lure of power and money.
WTF was I thinking…My meds must be wearing off. Time to reload.
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is not a Republic … it’s a corporation! Contract Law has replaced the Common Law. When the usurpers take their oath of office, they are formally entering into a contract with the people of this country to ” … promote the general welfare …”. How does wasting trillons on this military monstrosity meet that responsibility?
The best way to meet this challenge from a corrupt corporate actor is via a Commercial Lien: lien.fmotl.com Elections haven’t solved anything!
jerry bolduc
That is how the Spain of Philip II went bankrupt several times despite the big flow of silver from Mexico and Peru to Spain.
Like our nation today Philip conducted multi-front wars: against the Ottoman Empire, against England, and against the United Provinces of the Netherlands.
Spot on, Dieter. That was how Philip II’s Spain bankrupted itself despite the large flow of gold and silver from Mexico and Peru to Spain.
Just like the US today, Philip conducted multi-front wars: against the Ottoman Empire, against England, and against the United Provinces of the Netherlands .. and, he failed in all three.
George W. Bush and his successor, Barack Obama, have been conducting multi-front wars since 2003, and Obama continues to do so. Not only is he still waging war in Afghanistan, he’s waging war in Syria, Libya, Somalia, etc. He’s destabilized Libya, Afghanistan and Ukraine through regime changes, and is still trying to enact regime change in Syria .. only Bashar al-Assad called on Russia to help prevent such a catastrophe and is still in office.
It’s these multi-front wars for Israel that’s sent the US debt through the roof. The $1 trillion F-35 fighter-bomber jet has turned out to be a real turkey, and it’s still not battle ready. The latest aircraft carrier has had to be returned to Norfolk from the Mediterranean for additional repairs, and the list goes on. These events don’t include the Pentagon’s mysterious loss of $6.5 billion from its coffers.
Never heard the Philip II/Spain comparison before. Interesting and apt!
This seems like a good time to ask about that missing $6 trillion the Pentagon lost!
What we need is a war on George Soros, and Company..
I’ll chip in extra.