Members of Congress heavily invested in Military-industrial complex.

[JohnyCanuck]

Barack Obama Administration Continues US Military Global Dominance
By Peter Phillips (Project Censored)


The military expansionists from within the Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Clinton, G. W. Bush administrations put into place solid support for increased military spending. Clinton’s model of supporting the US military industrial complex held steady defense spending and increased foreign weapons sales from 16% of global orders to over 63% by the end of his administration.

The neo-conservatives, who dominated the most recent Bush administration, amplified this trend of increased military spending. The neo-cons laid out their agenda for military global dominance in the 2000 Project for a New American Century (PNAC) report Rebuilding America’s Defenses. The report called for the protection of the American Homeland, the ability to wage simultaneous theater wars, to perform global constabulary roles, and to control space and cyberspace. The report claimed that in order to maintain a Pax Americana, potential rivals — such as China, Iran, Iraq, and North Korea — needed to be held in check. This military global dominance agenda required forward deployment of US forces worldwide and increasing defense/war spending well into the 21st century. The result was a doubling of the US military budget to over $700 billion in the last eight years. The US now spends as much on war/defense as the rest of the world combined, making Americans the highest war-tax payers in the world. (my emphasis /JC)

Barack Obama’s election brought a moment of hope for many. However, the Obama administration is not calling for decreased military spending, or a reversal of US military global dominance. Instead, Obama retained Robert Gates, thus making Obama the first president from an opposing party, in US history, to keep in place the outgoing administrations’ Secretary of Defense/War. Additionally, Obama is calling for an expanded war in Afghanistan and only minimal long-range reductions in Iraq.

The US military industrial complex is deeply embedded inside the Washington beltway. According to the most recent reports from OpenSecrets.org, 151 members of Congress in 2006 had up to $195.5 million of their personal assets invested in defense companies. (my emphasis /JC)

http://www.projectcensored.org/articles/story/http-wwwprojectcensoredorg-articles-story-barack-obama-administration-c/

[KittyWampus]

1. Diane Feinstein's husband is directly linked. But, if this is about members being in money markets,

or have portfolios managed by a firm, it's a bit of a stretch to say outright they're invested.

[JohnyCanuck]

3. That sorts of illustrates the problem though,

Most of the US economy (or what's left of it) appears increasingly centered around building shit to kill people and blow things up. So anyone who decides he/she wants to invest money in other more positive pursuits and still make a decent return on the investment, finds options are limited.

[ixion]

2. the MIC is anathema to the US

and should be slapped down with extreme prejudice, IMO.

[Kip Humphrey]

5. The MIC must be continuously fed with sons & daughters & $$$$ to survive.

It is the dragon of our time.

[Gregorian]

11. And resources. This is another monster that is killing the environment.

I just felt like chiming in. I have little faith that the human race will grow up. Or even wake up.

[MagickMuffin]

15. Hey your Hippo kinda looks like mine ;=D

I created mine back in Spring '07, of course it was geared more to the W Brand of rethuglicons. I thought it should replace their elephant logo, it does appear to suit them better :evilgrin:

[JohnyCanuck]

6. Pentagon procurement process at work (Youtube video)

Youtube video clip from a movie that illustrates how the Pentagon procurement process works

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyakI9GeYRs">The Pentagon Wars - A product management lesson

[Orwellian_Ghost]

4. K&R

[KharmaTrain]

7. The Ties Have Been Deep For A Long Time...

Nothing gets votes like having a defense contractor in your district...the jobs and the money gets spread around. It's too good and for the past decade, easy to get. It's long fostered an economy of its own that now controls millions of jobs and is vital to the local economies of districts around the country. Cutting down on this spending, especially now, is political suicide. Just look at all the noise made when a base is closed.

My hopes in the 90's was the end of the Cold War would force those defense contractors that used that boogieman to create the complex to move into other areas, but no such luck. War is too good of a business and the money went from making old tanks into high tech tanks...it was an opportunity squandered.

Our military is broken, but the military complex isn't. It's one of the few sectors that resists the economic downturn and that fact makes it difficult to tame...it's both economically and politically risky. A shame as billions will continued to be squandered to destroy rather than build lives.

[bvar22]

13. You remember "The Peace Dividend" ?

I never got mine. :(

[mmonk]

8. Imagine how financially better off and free the people of the US would be

in a country that had sought a peace dividend for its citizens after the end of the cold war.

[L0oniX]

9. No shit!

[leftchick]

10. along with all of the residents of the WH

including Prez Change. That is One of the major reasons for the Afghanistan escalation. That and OIL. Same shit different day.

[NightWatcher]

12. Breaking News: Water Is Wet

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

14. But..but..it's now Politically Correct to be warmongers here cuz "our" guys are in charge.

:shrug:

[bottomtheweaver]

16. "Save the F-22"

You don't have to look any further than the slick Google ad atop this thread, at the moment anyway, containing a link to the following page, with this headline:

"Sign the petition to protect the Raptor program. Tell Congress."

http://preserveraptorjobs.com/?gclid=CImStOrR7pgCFRLoxgodPCj61Q

[G_j]

17. sorry but, he knows Americans who want peace supported him

but he had no intentions of listening to them.

[defendandprotect]

18. 45,000 PRIVATE CONTRACTORS in Iraq ---- !!!!

[BlooInBloo]

19. Um, hasn't that been the case for like... all of our lifetimes?

[defendandprotect]

20. The MIC is a monster destroying democracy and all life . . .

how does war benefit the earth -- ?

How does the intelligence community benfit freedom/democracy?

We need to gain some control over all of this --- how????