Your tax dollars at work. LOTS of your tax dollars.
posted by
Wally
8:08 AM
Because things are going so swimmingly in Bush's wars in the Middle east (you remember, the wars that were going to pay for themself with oil revenues - the "cakewalk" wars that Donny Rumsfeld decided to fight "on the cheap") and because the Iraqi and Afghan military and police have things so well under control, US Defense secretary Robert Gates is only asking Congress for another $190 Billion. At a dramatic congressional hearing that saw the eviction of several dozen mostly female protesters, Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, on Wednesday urged lawmakers to approve $190bn to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2008.
Mr Gates said the Pentagon needed another $42bn for the conflicts on top of the $147bn outlined earlier this year. The request would bring total US military spending for fiscal 2008, which begins in October, to $671bn. If approved, the budget would equate to spending almost $21,300 a second and would rank the Pentagon ahead of the Dutch economy, the 16th largest in the world, in terms of size. We needn't ask who is profiting most handsomely in that 16th largest economy. But here's a hint, it starts with "H" and rhymes with "alliburton". They, along with the rest of the military industrial complex (Boeing, GE, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, General Dynamics, etc.) are reaping billions, taking it straight out of your and my pocket. They are stealing food off of your table and literally blowing it up halfway around the world. They are taking the money that should be paying for your family's medical care and using it to kill and maim strangers who have done nothing to you. And they are telling you that they are doing this to protect you. In theatrical opening remarks that elicited cheers of approval from tens of "pink lady" protesters who have become a staple of congressional hearings on Iraq, Robert Byrd, Democratic committee chairman, lambasted the administration's "fatally flawed" surge strategy and said the committee would not "rubber stamp" every request by President George W. Bush. But of course, they will, just like they have in the past. First they'll talk tough about blocking funding and putting restrictions and stipulations on the funding - like a withdrawal date. Then they'll quietly vote to give Bush everything he wants.
So what does the Bush administration plan to do with all this money? I'll let Senator Leahy answer that, in the words he said to deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte. "My telephone bill has a lot more detail than that ... your testimony adds nothing new."
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