excellent doc - Why We Fight

zhao

there are no accidents
BBC produced, comprehensive and detailed documentary about the war(s) we have been, and are waging. the first of its kind that I've seen. it is feature length, 1.5 hours, and starts a little slow, laying the groundwork with vital information - and gets better and better all the way to the end. a powerful, humanizing, informative experience.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1422779427989588955
 

dominic

Beast of Burden
i saw this in a movie theater several months back

valid to an extent

the military-industrial complex still exists, and is larger and more influential than ever before . . . .

but invasion of iraq was an expression of weakness and desperation

american empire is in state of eclipse
 

adruu

This Is It
The sidestory of the vietnamese lady was really interesting, since I know quite a few vietnamese and taiwanese(sp?) refugees that work in "aerospace". I am going to forward this to them and see what they think.

I would have liked to see more numbers . People throw around the phrase "the military gets XX more dollars than all other social spending combined" so often the phrase has become meaningless.

For people to really understand how these self organizing predatory social networks like the M.I.Complex are created, we need an estimate on how many people participate, numbers on the cumulative spending vs. current spending, the interest the govmt pays on loans for military spending...even the names of the companies...the history of the family ownership behind these companies...the links between the boards of directors...net worth of c.e.o.'s...etc...etc...

how mad was the k.b.r. "magician" at the trade show?

That said, being personal again, I am actually pretty happy I left the States last year. My parents immigrated there, but I am probably never going back.
 
adruu said:
I would have liked to see more numbers . People throw around the phrase "the military gets XX more dollars than all other social spending combined" so often the phrase has become meaningless.

For people to really understand how these self organizing predatory social networks like the M.I.Complex are created, we need an estimate on how many people participate, numbers on the cumulative spending vs. current spending, the interest the govmt pays on loans for military spending...even the names of the companies...the history of the family ownership behind these companies...the links between the boards of directors...net worth of c.e.o.'s...etc...etc...

Such figures and estimates are actually readily available and now easily accessible online. A summary analysis of the US military budget is included below. Other primary and secondary data sources include the following:

Statistical Resources on the Web Military and Defense, which includes data on America's Military Population (Population Reference Bureau); Demographic characteristics of the military, America's Wars (Library Spot), Participants, deaths, and living veterans from individual wars, American Revolution to the Persian Gulf; Annual Defense Report (U.S. Defense Department), Annual report on military readiness, equipment, and personnel ; Center for Defense Information, Arms Trade Data Base, CIA World Factbook, among other data.

US Military Spending Compared to Other Countries

America's Empire of Military Bases: The US has now almost 800 foreign military bases in around 75 per cent of the world's countries [it even has more bases in the Republics of the former Soviet Union than Russia itself does, and is actively setting up new bases all over Eastern Europe and Africa]. There are also over 5,000 bases in the US.

As for the companies and the people behind the military-industrial complex, look no further than the US Council on Foreign Relations. The CFR, a private institution founded in 1919, is the hand-picked assemblage of western elites from big-energy, corporate media, high-finance, universities, and the weapons industry. These are the 4,000 or so members of the American ruling class who determine the shape of policy and ensure that the management of the global economic and military systems remain in the hands of U.S. bluebloods.


Summary of US Military Budget: With his budget for 2006, President Bush appears to be fulfilling the priorities of the U.S. electorate by emphasizing the “defense” budget. Upon closer examination, the budget reveals a drift towards the creation of a nation devoted to the military.

News accounts proclaim the military and homeland security “fiscal winners” in the budget, but an even larger portion of tax dollars are being used for military purposes than government statistics and charts indicate.

To promote Bush’s “war on terrorism,” the budget boosts military operations in the Department of Defense (almost 5 percent), the Department of Homeland Security (7 percent), and the Justice Department (17 percent). The $419.3 billion Department of Defense budget is 41 percent higher than the pre-September 11, 2001 budget, and 73 percent above the 2000 budget. In comparison with other countries, these sums are already staggering.

Based on 2003 figures, the world spent approximately $956 billion on the military, 10 times more than it spent on development assistance in 2001. Adding the cost of the military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan to the proposed 2006 “defense” budget, the U.S. will spend $500 billion on direct military purchases.

That means the U.S. will spend more on the military than the combined total that the rest of the world spent in 2003. This is 8 times more than China, which boasts the world’s second largest military, larger than the next 23 nations combined and 7 times larger than the combined military budgets of Russia and China. But the U.S. military budget fails to account for other military expenditures, which, if added together, account for an even larger share of world spending and a much larger share of the U.S. budget than indicated.

Recall that Bush’s expected $81 billion “supplement” for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan was added to the military budget, which at $500 billion is, in current dollars, almost 10 percent higher than at the height of the Cold War and 15 percent higher than during the Vietnam War. Other money in the budget devoted to military spending includes the cost for Defense/Civil programs ($44.5 billion); Homeland Security ($33.3 billion); and Veterans Affairs ($68.3 billion). This pushes the total military budget to $646 billion. Add $4 billion in foreign military financing from the Department of State and the total reaches $650 billion.

Other spending is hidden within departments, such as Justice, Energy, and NASA. While it will require experts to reveal these hidden funds, the cost of the bonds to pay off past military spending also needs to be included in the total cost of the U.S. military. In an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, Robert Higgs calculates that debt-financed defense spending amounts to almost $139 billion, which brings the total amount that the U.S. spends on military projects in 2006 to $789 billion.

In other words, the U.S. spends 30.7 percent of total government funding on the military, much more than the 17 percent that calculations reveal. This is larger than the Health and Human Services or Social Security.

As a larger proportion of U.S. resources goes to the military, domestic programs are being cut and the wealthy are given additional tax breaks ($26 billion more in 2006). Over the next five years, Bush plans to cut $212 billion from domestic programs, such as Medicaid, food stamps for 300,000 low-income families, and child care assistance for 300,000 children. Rather than paying for military increases with taxes, they are allowed to become part of the deficit, which will continue to run over $400 billion a year.

Military costs could go even higher. The Administration’s budget figures exclude any future cost for the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan—already running $300 billion—or the cost of new military adventures against North Korea, Syria, or Iran, which could easily add billions to the military budget. Such expenses do nothing to make the country safer. According to World Markets Research Center, which released the World Terrorism Index, the U.S. occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq “has exacer- bated anti-U.S. sentiment.”

Spending vast sums of money on the military may not make the U.S. safer but it will create more demand for military invasions and occupations and a spiraling need for more military funding.

Oh, almost forgot, The On-Going Research and Technology underlying America's Future Robot Wars, New Statesman, June 12th 2006 ...
 

adruu

This Is It
I did not mean to say that this type of research doesn't exist or isn't available. I thought it should have been included in the doc.

You forgot theyrule.net, unfortunately titled i think, but it illustrates the personal and direct connections between corporate boards. IF they could extend that site into the personal earnings or net worth year by year it could get interesting...or maybe they should add home addreses =P

I would also like to see a number on how many "illegal" immigrants have been fast-tracked resident alien status in order to fight abroad. The first link you sent on demographics seems outdated...even 2002 reports wouldnt reflect demographic shifts after the WoT really started. I know there are already a number of ex-central american paramilitaries working for erinys, triple canopy, and whatever fancy name the mercenaries have now.
 
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