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Last year, the United States spent almost as much on its military as the rest of the world put together devoted to defence.
And all this at a time when taxpayers have been counting pennies to make ends meet.
But cutting spending on the military, the United States could massively increase the amount it invests in the needs of ordinary people.
But there are analysts who warn that the new president will not dramatically curtail America’s ambitious military policies.
Originally posted by dooper
That's a great idea! Cut military spending, disband the military, put hundreds of thousands of defense industry workers on the dole, and we can expect Cuba to invade and take over within a week.
That's a great idea!
Then there is the corruption in Iraq that numerically is hard to believe. Around $500 billion flowed into Iraq for the occupation and $44 billion for reconstruction in the first four-and-a-half years. More than half of the money went to private contractors. At least one of sic "reconstruction dollars" was devoured by corruption. That is all that can be said with certainty.
Isolated information comes to light here and there. Who doesn't remember the 360 tons of cash flown into Baghdad right after the invasion for the US regent in Iraq, Paul Bremen. Of the $12 billion to pay for all kinds of services, $8.8 billion disappeared in unknown pockets. In July 2007, no one knew what happened with around 190,000 weapons intended for the Iraqi security forces. A third of the rifles delivered to Iraq by the US were "lost" in the combat zone. In November 2007, the US Secretary of State admitted that $1.2 billion paid to the private security firm DynCorp International for training the Iraqi police could not be accounted. "Bills were paid but no one knew why they were paid and what the return favor was," said Glenn Furbish, employee of the oversight monitoring board for Iraqi reconstruction temporarily established by the US Congress in October 2004, StGR (Special Inspector General for Iraqi Reconstruction).