From film-maker Oliver Stone’s interview with former Argentine President Nestor Kirchner, we discover:
Oliver Stone: "Were there any eye-to-eye moments with President Bush that day, that night?"
Nestor Kirchner: "…I said that a solution to the problems right now, I told Bush, is a Marshall Plan. …He said the best way to revitalize the economy is war and that the United States has grown stronger with war."
Stone: "War. He said that?"
Kirchner: "He said that. Those were his exact words."
Stone: "Was he suggesting that South America go to war?"
Kirchner: "Well, he was talking about the United States. …All of the economic growth of the United States has been encouraged by the various wars. He said it very clearly. –Fmr. Argentine President Kirchner Dies of Heart Attack, Democracy Now!, Oct. 28, 2010
So, WAS Dubya right?
"War" [1] is indeed a key part of the U.S. economy. Some folks call this "military keynesianism."
Consider: Despite one of the most defensible geographic situations on earth — unless you fear the Canadians — the U.S. Government spends more on "defense" than almost the rest of the world combined. AND, not surprisingly, U.S.A. is the biggest arms merchant in the world.
So, Mr. Bush was exactly right.
If you’re a U.S. Citizen, approximately 43% of your income taxes go to pay for wars, past and present. And that’s before Uncle Sam is forced, kicking and screaming, into officially admitting PTSD is nearly universal in combat veterans, lasts a lifetime, and is expensive to treat. According to former IMF Chief Economist and Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, the two current "wars" will eventually cost U.S. taxpayers between four and six trillion dollars. That’s trillion. With a "T."
And don’t fret about the militaryindustrial budget. While Mr. Obama isn’t yet responsible for killing as many men, women and children as Mr. Bush — and hasn’t spent as much doing so, give him a chance — he’s not even two years into his presidency and he’s already sent at least 60,000 new U.S. troops into Afghanistan and has plans to escalate the U.S. presence in Pakistan, and the largely ignoredU.S. presence in Yemen too.
With these kinds of numbers — that 43% of your income tax spent for “wars” for example — maybe a bit of money invested in antiwar.com to stop them might be a good investment, not only for you, but for your kids, grand kids and the yet unborn. What do you say?
Notes:
[1] The U.S. Government hasn’t been at war according to its Constitution since the end of World War II. That would require the U.S. House of Representatives to vote for war, which it hasn’t done. This means the so-called "wars" — the Korean "War," the Vietnam "War," The Iraq "Wars," the "War" in Afghanistan, etc. — must be something else. Or, since they insist on calling them "wars" anyway, unconstitutional. But as George W. Bush is reported to have claimed, "The constitution is just a damned piece of paper." So, who cares? return
Thank you so much for this post! This is an excellent article, and much needed to be known, as well as shown, especially today, Veterans Day! Many thanks. I also appreciate being able to click your highlighted areas and go straight to your original sources. Again…EXCELLENT….WELL DONE…and THANKS! I am on fire today, Veterans Day, and really needed this, as well as your sources! I will also be watching "WARTORN" on HBO tonight. People need to know how they are being manipulated, and the price they are paying, as well as inflicting in order to make rich folks richer.
America's "defense" spending has nothing to do with defense.
Maintaining our status as supreme world dominator requires a lot of military spending.
I watched "Wartorn" on HBO last night. The documentary made a powerful case against the supposed "glory" of military service. It showed how the horrors of war destroys even the survivors. The process of quickly converting civilians into soldiers doesn't work very well (during WWII, bootcamp was only weeks long) – years of human association works against quickly converting them into killers. So what our military has done is to professionalize the art of killing other human beings. We are doing away with soldiers who don't want to kill, by only retaining those who like killing. Those who don't like killing, get out; those who like it, re-enlist. Our elite soldiers (Delta Force, Green Berets, Seals) like killing. Every night in Afghanistan and Iraq, teams of them go out and assasinate suspected "trouble makers" . Obviously, our men do this without it bothering them. Also, we have teams of killers on airbases in Nevada whose day at the office is to guide drones on killing missions. After work, they probably get together for a brewski and a burger. Lessons learned – keep killing remote or use trained sociopaths.
War is sometimes necessarry ,and unfortunately since the times when only armies of the participants met on a field of battle , civilians will no doubt be killed . Of the approximately 55 million killed during WW2 , almost 40% were civilians . Oh well …having said that , Korea was a UN action , a responsibility as it were , but everything afterwards , especially Vietnam , Iraq , and any action in Afghanistan beyond simply pounding the Taliban regime by air , have been totally unecessarry .Defense IS necessarry , however , what needs to be changed and rethought , are the reasons and situations in which we choose to involve ourselves in military actions .
Is "it's good for the economy, generates profits and creates jobs" among the reasons the U.S. Government should go to war?
Never mind. I'm pretty sure your answer is "No."
All this negativity regarding war needs to be neutered by parades, pinning shiny medals on the chests of young and old men alike, and by constant references to military people as 'heroes' – regardless of their actions – throughout the entire MSM. LMAO, as if that will actually work. Who's that stupid? But then I look at the world around me and…
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