CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

The War Machine, and the War Budget, Are Out of Control. Let’s Change That.

Image by Valeriia Miller.

Much of the time, it seems as if the war machine runs on autopilot. Indeed, the United States has been engaged in warfare for almost the entirety of our 250-year history. It feels overwhelming to most people to attempt to intervene, yet we are all involved, as our tax dollars feed endless wars, interventions, and weapons transfers fueling violent conflict around the world, (and at home, as evidenced by the murders of US citizens by ICE). So, intervene we must, if we want our government to pursue more productive, life-affirming policies and priorities.

This week, the Senate will vote on the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets war policies and priorities for the next fiscal year. The Trump Administration, enabled by many in Congress, is proposing an outrageous 66% increase in Pentagon and related spending, to over $1.5 trillion per year. While this is a boon to weapons manufacturers, it is detrimental to everyone and everything else. We must stop this madness.

On the other side of the guns vs. butter ledger, Trump has already slashed over $1 trillion in funding from health care and food assistance programs over the next decade. And he wants to make even bigger cuts to health care, climate, housing, food, and other human needs. Trump recently said we can’t fund child care because we’re fighting wars, in the context of his (and Benjamin Netanyahu’s) illegal war of aggression against Iran. Sometimes he says the quiet part out loud.

So the task is simple, to........

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