Thursday, December 14, 2006
Like a Kid in a Candystore
Some general on the joint chiefs wants the government to DOUBLE the amount of money that we spend on the military. Oh, by the way, the DoD's annual budget was $450 BILLION last year.
This guy must be fucking nuts.
His argument -- as a percentage of GDP, the amount we spend on defense currently is the "lowest" that it's ever been when the country is at war. During WWII, military spending was 33% of GDP, during Korea it is was 14%, Vietnam 9%. Today it is 3%.
OK, WWII should be eliminated from the conversation right off the bat. That was sui generis. There is absolutely no comparison between the war in Iraq and -- oh, I don't know -- simultaneous wars against ADOLPH FUCKING HITLER and the JAPANESE EMPIRE.
Just because national defense is important shouldn't mean that these hawks get carte blanche to spend as much money as they want. If I was a Congressmen at this hearing where the general said that he wanted to increase military spending to 5-6% of GDP, I would have laughed audibly.
Somewhere, Joseph Heller should be firing up a sequel, because this shit is so illogical it boggles the mind. Here's how it goes: We start wars we don't need. They cost a lot of money. They piss a lot of people off and destabilize entire regions. We realize we fucked up. Then, the people who facilitated the fuck-up because they can't conduct intelligence worth a damn decide that they need more money to conduct their "mission" -- i.e. the quagmire they got us into in the first place. Oy vey.
Quite a racket.
At first I thought only lawyers and journalists were capable of making work for themselves, but I guess warmongers are also capable of this slight of hand.
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This guy must be fucking nuts.
His argument -- as a percentage of GDP, the amount we spend on defense currently is the "lowest" that it's ever been when the country is at war. During WWII, military spending was 33% of GDP, during Korea it is was 14%, Vietnam 9%. Today it is 3%.
OK, WWII should be eliminated from the conversation right off the bat. That was sui generis. There is absolutely no comparison between the war in Iraq and -- oh, I don't know -- simultaneous wars against ADOLPH FUCKING HITLER and the JAPANESE EMPIRE.
Just because national defense is important shouldn't mean that these hawks get carte blanche to spend as much money as they want. If I was a Congressmen at this hearing where the general said that he wanted to increase military spending to 5-6% of GDP, I would have laughed audibly.
Somewhere, Joseph Heller should be firing up a sequel, because this shit is so illogical it boggles the mind. Here's how it goes: We start wars we don't need. They cost a lot of money. They piss a lot of people off and destabilize entire regions. We realize we fucked up. Then, the people who facilitated the fuck-up because they can't conduct intelligence worth a damn decide that they need more money to conduct their "mission" -- i.e. the quagmire they got us into in the first place. Oy vey.
Quite a racket.
At first I thought only lawyers and journalists were capable of making work for themselves, but I guess warmongers are also capable of this slight of hand.
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