We're cutting back on food stamps and head start and education and medicaid, but not on our Miltary-Industrial-Complex.
During
World War II, this nation converted its civilian manufacturing base
into the creation of weapons and military equipment. However, the
arms industry did not revert back to its original functions upon the
war’s end; instead, it continued to grow and expand. The Cold War
did much to precipitate the amount of money our government was
spending on the arms race and to counter the Soviet threat. Today,
the U.S. spends fifty cents out of every discretionary tax dollar on
war and militarism. We spend almost as much on the military as the
rest of the world combined, and we are by far the largest arms
exporter in the world, accounting for 78% of such sales. Russia is in
second place with 5.6%.
The
term “Military Industrial Complex” was first coined by President
Eisenhower in 1961 during his farewell
address to the nation to
describe the unprecedented American arms industry coupled with an
immense military establishment. He warned us to “...guard
against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or
unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the
disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”
The
military aid that the U.S. “gives” to other countries comes in
the way of credits which can only be used to purchase U.S. weapons
systems, equipment and training. The cost of those aid credits comes
directly out of the pockets of the American taxpayer and right into
the bank accounts of the defense industry. The U.S. provides around
$50 billion dollars in aid annually to over 150 nations, with at
least $17 billion of that being military aid. Our foreign military
aid programs keep the Military Industrial Complex (MIC) machine well
oiled and running smoothly; with big profits for the likes of
Lockheed Martin and Boeing, all courtesy of American taxpayers.
The
“rise of misplaced power” that Eisenhower warned of is easily
seen by the influence the Military Industrial Complex has on Congress
and the decisions it makes about war, budgeting, and foreign policy.
Defense firms spend millions lobbying Congress to protect their
weapons programs from spending cuts and to promote military actions.
Senators who voted in favor of a military strike against Syria
received an average of 83
percent more money from
the defense industry than senators who voted against the resolution.
When
chemical weapons were used to kill civilians in Syria recently, the
U.S. was quick to say that President Assad had violated international
law. But instead of referring the case to the International Criminal
Court for adjudication, the Obama administration came very close to
waging war.
The
United Nations charter prohibits the threat or use of force against
any other country except in the event of self defense, yet in just
the last 12 years the U.S. has launched two full-blown wars in Iraq
and Afghanistan and we have attacked Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia with
hellfire missiles launched from drones. We have used the two most
recent wars to justify the use of torture, external rendition and
indefinite detention, as well as multiple violations of the Geneva
Conventions.
In
addition to refusal to become a party to the International Criminal
Court, a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide,
crimes against humanity and war crimes
,
the U.S. has also refused to sign on to the Landmine Treaty, the
Cluster Munitions Treaty, the Biological and Toxin Weapons
Convention, the Convention against Torture, and the Anti-Ballistic
Missile Treaty. Even though the Chemical Weapons Convention was
ratified, the U.S. set extensive limitations on how it could be
applied in the U.S., essentially gutting its provisions.
Since
1961 we have built a foreign policy through fear, intimidation, and
coercion. We have ignored opportunities to join the international
community and have instead shown arrogance and disregard for other
nations and their peoples. We espouse support for human rights, but
ignore them in the interest of corporate profits.
No comments:
Post a Comment