No chance for peace against power

According to The Washington Post, President Trump is asking for a $54 billion increase in military spending in 2018, raising the total to $639 billion — while slashing $54 billion from non-defense programs.

According to the Department of Defense, there are: 460,000 active-duty Army soldiers, 335,000 National Guardsmen and 195,000 reservists; 182,000 active-duty Marines and 38,500 reservists; 380,900 active-duty sailors and reservists; and 491,700 active-duty, National Guardsmen and reservists in the Air Force.

The Navy is increasing its fleet from 280 to 308 ships.

The military’s 10 most expensive planes have ranged from $94 million to $2.4 billion each.

U.S. military expenditures exceed the next seven largest military budgets combined: China, Saudi Arabia, Russia, United Kingdom, India, France and Japan.

According to thebalance.com, the defense budget accounts for roughly half of discretionary spending (which excludes entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare).

By its own estimates, the Department of Defense (DoD) operates with 21 percent excess capacity in facilities.

Even when the DoD wants to close bases, Congress refuses.

Pushed by lobbyists, the military is forced to spend billions on aircraft, ships and weapons it doesn’t want to keep jobs in Congressional districts and politicians in office.

Since we are now “America First” and not supposed to be meddling in other countries’ internal or regional affairs, why increase military spending?

For example, even though Kim Jong-un of North Korea is egomaniacal, he is not crazy enough to launch a nuclear missile at us or South Korea — knowing we would instantly annihilate his country. Why not just ignore him like the bratty attention-seeking child he is?

We might also have fewer enemies if we bombed fewer civilians in countries we don’t understand.

Couldn’t we get by with a military budget only as big as the next three countries combined — still big enough to protect us?

With the savings we could cut taxes, feed homeless veterans and hungry children, pay teachers more, develop friend-making projects in hostile countries and — heresy — take in a few more refugees.

Of course, Ike warned us about the military/industrial complex.

Be wary of ominous saber-rattling about shadowy boogeymen being existential threats to the most powerful nation on Earth.

Just like those foreboding tales about non-existent weapons of mass destruction in a country that dared not attack us, you can be sure military contracts leading to foreign and American blood are lurking behind politicians’ gilded doors.

Unfortunately, the pipes of peace don’t stand a chance against the déjà vu drumbeat of greed and power.

Contact Wendel Sloan at: [email protected]