The U.S. is busily building weapons en mass for itself and for many others. Some of its biggest customers are Middle East based, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. The premise is these arms sales help ensure a military balance in that region and elsewhere in the world thus keeping it safe.
Of course this is faulty and dangerous logic, but then the logic is irrelevant. Regime changes alone make this an iffy proposition. For example, in the 1970's the U.S. armed the Shah of Iran, only to have him overthrown by the Ayatollah who then possessed those weapons. And during the Cold War, we came within a razor's edge of nuclear annihilation. But all that's ancient history and the arms race is on.
The U.S. military has a "budget" of $725 billion, another rise over last year's nearly $700 billion and twice what it was ten years ago. This is what the rest of the world combined spends on its military. And to boost arms sales, the U.S. government often helps with the financing, despite being broke, forced to borrow and print the money. This despite U.S. states and communities having to layoff teachers, police and firefighters and cut other services in a desperate attempt to pay their bills.
Why is this madness happening? Because the military contractors employ more than 200,000 people directly, including people in nearly every Congressional District. Add in sub-contractors and they employ millions of Americans. So in the words of our politicians, our national security depends on "keeping America strong," even as it goes broke.
If you would like to know more about how crazy this has become, please see Fortune magazine's cover story, "America's Hottest Export: Weapons. Arms sales to the Middle East are booming. The defense industry's surprising partner in the race to arm the world? President Obama."
http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/10/news/international/america_exports_weapons.fortune/index.htm
If this offends or frightens you, remember it is happening in Americans' silence and indifference. What you think matters so please, raise your voice in the names of sanity, humanity and peace. Thank you.
Dick
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