Tag: military-industrial complex

Where Eagles Double-Dog Dare

We’re getting ready to sell $60 billion worth of weapons to Saudi Arabia, largely in the form of F-15 Eagle fighter jets. In other news, we’re getting ready to sell all of our old elephant guns to the Eskimos. The Eskimos will probably get more use out of the elephant guns than the Saudis will … Continue reading “Where Eagles Double-Dog Dare”

In for a Penny

The good news is that Defense Secretary Bob Gates is going to save money by shutting down Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) in Virginia. The bad news, as the New York Times reports, is that the White House says the money Gates saves will free money that can be “better spent on war fighting.” Egad. That’s … Continue reading “In for a Penny”

The Valley of the Shadow of WikiLeaks

Leave it to the U.S. Department of “Defense” to continue fighting a war it’s already irretrievably lost. On Friday, the Pentagon “asked” online whistleblowing facilitator WikiLeaks to “do the right thing” by erasing all classified U.S. government documents from its servers and handing over any copies. I put the “asked” in scare quotes because although … Continue reading “The Valley of the Shadow of WikiLeaks”

Military Spending Must Be on the Table

Click here to listen to this commentary. This past week various news events once again made it abundantly clear that our foreign policy is an abject failure. Unfortunately, in spite of this, the administration is determined to stay on this destructive course, despite any past promises to change it. For Afghanistan especially, if ever there … Continue reading “Military Spending Must Be on the Table”

Runaway Defense Spending Not Winning Any Wars

In Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq, the major places of military interest to the United States today (disregarding the hundreds of other places where American soldiers and agents or mercenaries have been dispatched to suppress one or another outbreak of ethnic, tribal, religious, or territorial conflict, the United States having appointed itself the enemy of Disorder) … Continue reading “Runaway Defense Spending Not Winning Any Wars”

More Blank Checks to the Military-Industrial Complex

Click here to listen to this speech. Congress, with its insatiable appetite for spending, is set to pass yet another “supplemental” appropriations bill in the next two weeks. So-called supplemental bills allow Congress to spend beyond even the 13 annual appropriations bills that fund the federal government. These are akin to a family that consistently … Continue reading “More Blank Checks to the Military-Industrial Complex”

Bull From the China Shop

As counterinsurgency (COIN) marches into the expanding ranks of failed U.S. military doctrines, the military-industrial-congressional complex casts about for a new raison d’être. Since manpower-centric, generational occupations of broken countries we can’t fix have finally fallen out of favor as our foreign policy tool of choice, the American warmongery is back to championing a high-price, … Continue reading “Bull From the China Shop”

Damn the Torpedoes, Fools’ Greed Ahead

I wonder whether Americans realize that they have a Vienna sausage military at filet mignon prices. The sorry performance in recent wars is just one example of the ongoing rot, but the whole enterprise has become unbalanced, aimed at fighting the kinds of enemies we don’t have instead of the ones we have recently chosen … Continue reading “Damn the Torpedoes, Fools’ Greed Ahead”

Unwarranted Influence

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex." – President Dwight David Eisenhower, 1961 Michael D. "Mike" Furlong has, to all appearances, established himself as the premier military-industrial scumbag of the New American Century, an eye-watering accomplishment considering the competition in … Continue reading “Unwarranted Influence”

Pimping Weapons to the World

As last week ended, the American and British military in Afghanistan finally launched a long-awaited operation to occupy the city of Marjah in Taliban-controlled Helmand province. According to Afghan war commander Gen. Stanley McChrystal, to win "hearts and minds," the U.S. Army and Marines were arriving with "a government in a box" – Afghan governing … Continue reading “Pimping Weapons to the World”