What is a better US Gov investment for Future - Military Spending or Infrastructure

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July 18, 2006

SouthAmerica: So far the United States wasted over $ 300 billion dollars fighting a losing cause regarding its war in Iraq.

When the same $ 300 billion could have been invested instead on something that could give the American people better returns on their tax dollars investment such as investing the money on the US infrastructure.


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Infrastructure expansion/revision being saved for a depression scenario where people need to be put to work in some NRA type deal.

Just my opinion.
 
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February 2, 2007

SouthAmerica: When a government it does not have a clue about the future direction of a country, and has nothing better to do with the “trillions of borrowed money” from foreigners from around the world – then all it can do it is to piss the borrowed money away………



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“Bush administration seeks $245B for wars”
By: ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writer
AP – Associated Press
February 2, 2007


WASHINGTON - The Bush administration will ask for another $100 billion for military and diplomatic operations in Iraq and Afghanistan this year and seek $145 billion for 2008, a senior administration official said Friday.

The requests Monday, to accompany President Bush's budget for the 2008 fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, would bring the total appropriations for 2007 to about $170 billion, with a decline the following year.

The additional request for the current year includes $93.4 billion for the Pentagon — on top of $70 billion approved by Congress in September — and is about $6 billion less than the Pentagon's request to the White House budget office.

… The spiraling increases in war spending — up from $120 billion approved by Congress for 2006 — are largely to replace equipment destroyed in combat or worn out in harsh conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Iraq requests are certain to face scrutiny by the Democratic-controlled Congress, which is debating whether to try to block Bush's request to increase troop levels in Iraq to quell the burgeoning violence in Baghdad.

War critics also say the Pentagon is using war funding requests to modernize the armed services with weaponry — such as the next-generation Joint Strike Fighters or the controversial V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft — unlikely to see action in Iraq or Afghanistan.

The Administration defends such acquisitions since the Joint Strike Fighter would replace F-16s lost in Iraq, and there are no assembly lines open for the 30-year-old airplanes.

The additional budget request for Iraq is far below ambitious lists assembled by the service branches, who were given a green light last fall by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, who instructed the four military services that they could add projects connected to the broader fight against terrorism.

Critics said that could be interpreted to cover almost anything.

Those lists were met with resistance in the White House and on Capitol Hill, and the Pentagon pared them back in the request it forwarded to the White House's Office of Management and Budget, which trimmed them further.

In addition to its share of the $245 billion for the wars, the Defense Department will seek $481.4 billion to run the department for 2008 — an 11.3 percent increase over the amount approved by Congress for this year, according to a defense official and budget documents.

That total includes about $12 billion to increase the size of the Army and Marine Corps, to meet the growing strains of fighting wars on two fronts, said the Pentagon official, who requested anonymity because the budget has not yet been released.

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Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Lolita Baldor contributed to this story.

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Among developed countries, without a single exception, the countries with the highest standard of living, the highest literacy rates, the least amount of poverty, the most universal access to medical care, the lowest infant mortality, the lowest obesity rates, the lowest violent crime rates, the cleanest air and water, best developed infrastructure, are all countries with low to minimal military expenditures.
Most of these countries are also less likely to be targeted by terrorists than is the U.S.

There must be a message there.
 
Quote from mschey:

The biggest fault of the military is being forced to play a game by the rules against an enemy who abides by no rules. The military has new weopons that would help them deal with these people, but won't use them because of politics. We need to do what it takes to win this war...and that means taking the gloves off!
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Very true, Vietnam is a perfect example. LBJ was warned about this from the start.
Not that I am a hawk, unlike you, but US is wasting their time pretending to be this angelic world "guardian", only complete morons continue to believe the nonsense.
All is fair in war, if the civilians seem to have a tendency to harbor the enemy, f**k em. A fair warning is all they need. Only way to beat guerilla warfare is no holds barred.


Quote from southamerica:

PLEASE stop wasting money on wars that the US can’t win, and instead invest the money wisely in a way that will help many American generations in the future.
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You're a moron who has no idea of what goes on in the world. Of course, that was obvious from the first time you claimed Brazil is great and USA sucks. All while the problems you keep mentioning about USA are transforming it into Brazil/Mexico. See the irony yet?

Purpose of Iraq invasion was accomplished, the aftermath is a secondary problem. It's not about winning that particular war.
 
The american public has no stomach for war. If I could rewind the hands of time and become president, I would have taken iraq in 2 weeks, just like we did, and then immediately left. LEFT! GONE!

If they want to slaughter each other fine, thats not my problem. While they are busy killing one another, they have no time to rebuild into a military power that can threaten us.

Iran a problem? Fine. Bomb the living shit out of their infrastructure, and then leave. That buys you 5-10 years, do it again when they start flexing their muscles. Drop leaflets that tells their public you will do it again if Iran doesnt play nice. Iranians without running water will get pissed when their government starts talking shit to the USA and gets them bombed again.

If you really want to take the gloves off, drop a few small tactical nukes and break their spines instantly. Why sacrifice american lives with boots on the ground? Is this WAR or not?

They would do the same to us instantly if they could, show no mercy. Im sick of being a paper tiger. The USA is a military joke, a huge tiger with a muzzle on it, and everyone refuses to cut the chain and take the muzzle off, while little terrorist kids poke at it with twigs.

The spineless american public keeps the chain and muzzle on tight, they cant bear to see the tiger eat its enemy.
 
The U.S. is fine I don't understand all these fuckin retards that think losing a few thousand soldiers and some cash in one war is gonna hurt us. The military spending as a % of GDP is not that big of a deal and most of that spending at least benefits some companies in the U.S. The economy is looking great.

I say just stop giving money to everybody and stop trying to establish capitalism and democracy everywhere. If we do this the world might not hate us and we can just go in and blow everything up when somebody fucks with us. Hell I would even go for required military service by all citizens so that we weigh each and every decision very carefully.
 
Interesting thread SA.

Like so many nations before it, the US has lost control of it's destiny and is therefore committed to reactive behaviour only.

The smart Americans ( and there are a lot of smart Americans) are steadily moving technology and funds offshore.
 
we have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the entire planet several times over. how can anyone actually believe that we need MORE military spending? how can anyone actually believe that we need anywhere near the amount we spend on the military?

where do all the hundreds of billions of dollars go to? it goes to military contractors (boeing, lockheed, etc.) can you say lobbyists? how about bribes and kickbacks? nice to see our hard earned tax dollars put to good use.

president eisenhower said it best:

"In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes."
 
Iran gets military gear in Pentagon surplus sale

In one case, convicted middlemen for Iran bought Tomcat parts from the Defense Department’s surplus division. Customs agents confiscated them and returned them to the Pentagon, which sold them again — customs evidence tags still attached — to another buyer, a suspected broker for Iran.

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The US gub'mint continues to embolden the enemy.
 
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