Simple_Min

http://www.cdi.org/issues/increase.html


I see this as a double standard because here we are trying to convince the world not to stockpile its WMD (India, Pakistan, North Korea as recent examples). On a side note, we are advocates of democracy, but has our government done things democratically in the international scene lately?

What example/precedence does this set. What are our priorities? I figured health care for the masses, Social Security, and stimulation of the market would benefit our global economy more than this. I have other reasons, but let's discuss. I realize most people who participate here are pro-war and groupthink flies rampant through here.

Liquor Dealer

I am the one your mother warned you about. Many of the points made are well taken and surprise surprise surprise! Most fit right into what Rumsfield has been pushing that caused many to speak about how ill-planned the militray efforts were in Iraq. Leaner meaner lighter faster. Iy was just proven - and rather dramatically, that such a military is mor efficient thatn that of our very recent past. We have some systems that are simply too old to keep updating. For example the B-52. We have some systems that have never been quite right that need to be replaced - our entire fleet of helicopters has always had problems. We are still using Vietnam and Cold War era equipment that should have been retired a long time ago - the A-10 needs to be replaced and most of the Navy's auxilliary fleet should have been scrapped and replaced fifteen years ago. Some of the current amphibious ships were built in the late 50's and early 60's. They are simply worn out and too expensive to operate. Many of the Navy's ships are obsolete - so obsolete they could not be operated cost-wise by anyone but the military.

Defense spending is part of our economy. Most of this money stays at home - (the navy is buying some ships from Italy). Does defense spending hurt our economy - yes it does - no it doesn't. it depends on how you spin it! Do we need the strongest military in the World? Hell man - lets try third or fourth place for a while and see how much respect we get for cutting back to that level.

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crewsor

As long as the money spent is not wastefull, I can't think of anything more important than national defense.

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Easytiger

Health care? Education? Ensuring that what you're defending is WORTH defending?
Sure, I'm playing devil's advocate again, but defense spending has to be rational and proportionate or you'll wind up like North Korea, which lets its people starve in order to maintain a wildly oversized military.

The_Dude

we just operate way too many bases around the world = wasting good money that can go into domestic economy.

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Liquor Dealer

I can assure you it is worth defending. As to size, at the current time, our military is probably the smallest it has been in the last 50 years.

__________________
Life isn't always a bowl of cherries, sometimes it's more like a jar of Jalapenos --- what you say or do today might burn your ass tomorrow!!!

Liquor Dealer

Dude, if you can't defend it it makes no difference is the economy is in the shitter. I really fail to see your concerns for the economy of the U.S. It isn't as healthy right now as it has been at times in the past but it is a long way from having a real problem. Unemployment is high but still at an acceptable level. GNP is increasing and there is no inflation. What are you actual concerns? Defense spending is not effecting the domestic economy other than the lack of it during the Clinton excuse for a presidency probably is a real cause for concern. We are not as well prepared as we should be at all times. Clinton ran military hardware into the ground so deeply that much of it is now beyond repair. Had it been maintained and updated as it should have been we would be in a lot better shape right now than we are and it would have been much cheaper in the long run.

__________________
Life isn't always a bowl of cherries, sometimes it's more like a jar of Jalapenos --- what you say or do today might burn your ass tomorrow!!!

Simple_Min

You can't put out fire by adding more petrol to it. And that is exactly what is going on with American, (well let us generalize here because every other country is doing the same), the world policy : We need to be feeling safe, so let us build military and WMDs....

The cold war is over, but the mentality of Soviets/Americans has presisted and is applied by other smaller nations to justify cutting Heatlh care and School Education to build more Bunker Buster bombs.

Everyone blames the media/video games/movies/Jackass for violence and inducing the youth into doing horrible things, but they forget our military has and is far more damaging than the obviously easy targets stated above. It is indeed a sad day in American when Congress relaxes the manditory public school operation hours to cut costs (and not to mention school closures, classroom overcrowding), but then they turn around and give the military the go ahead to build more bombs to kill the threat that simply does not exist.

Now, I'm not suggesting or advocating elimiation of the military here. But just as there are limits to the NASA/DoE budgets, there aught to be limits on Dept of War, umm i mean Dept of Defense.

KillerYoda

Ahh, but if we cut military spending, we wouldn't have such wonderful contributions to mankind as the MOAD or the "Daisy cutter."

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Simple_Min

The United States, being the most formidable military power, it is worth looking at their spending, compared to the rest of the world. Consider the following:

On the military in general, the USA spends more than the rest of the G7 countries combined.

The U.S. military budget request for Fiscal Year 2003 is $396.1 billion

The U.S. military budget request for Fiscal Year 2002 was $343.2 billion.

The U.S. military budget request for Fiscal Year 2001 was $305 billion And Congress had increased that budget request to $310 billion.

This was up from approximately $288.8 billion, in 2000.

The US military budget is more than six times larger than the Russian budget, the second largest spender.

The US military budget is more than twenty six times as large as the combined spending of the seven "rogue" states (Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria).
It is more than the combined spending of the next twenty five nations.

The United States and its close allies (NATO countries, Australia Japan and South Korea) spend more than the rest of the world combined
-This accounts for two thirds of all military spending.
-Together they spend approximately 40 times more than the seven rogue states.

The seven potential "enemies," Russia and China together spend $117 billion, less than 30% of the U.S. military budget.

Global military spending has declined from $1.2 trillion in 1985 to $809 billion in 1998. During that time the U.S. share of total military spending rose from 31% to 36% in Fiscal Year 1999.

In 1997 alone, half of USA's aid was related to military aid/trade -- and most of that was to countries that are already wealthy, like Israel, or Turkey (which has often been one of the largest recipients of US military aid and has often been criticized for its human rights violations and crackdowns). Compare that to very poor countries like Sub-Saharan African nations that received very little aid.



source: http://www.globalissues.org/Geopolit...e/Spending.asp
Center for Defense Information