Health & Fitness
Remedial Math for Neocons
Why Neocon Man (Rickus Santorum) needs remedial math (and a cold dose of reality too).
Rick Santorum recently claimed that defense spending was only 17% of the budget and that anyone who thinks that this has anything to do with our debt problem needs "remedial math." As it turns out, Santorum is the one who needs remedial math (and a cold dose of reality too). a
"Defense" Line Item from the 2012 Budget
Cost
(billions) The baseline request for the DOD
558.0 Supplemental request to fight the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. 118.0 DOE development and housing of nuclear weapons. 19.3 DOD “miscellaneous” (CIA black ops?) 7.8 State Department counter-terrorism programs 8.7 DOD homeland security and counter-terrorism 18.1 DHS, DOJ and DHHS security and counter-terrorism 53.5 DVA to treat wounded veterans 129.3 Foreign affairs, including military and counter-terrorism 18.0 Payments to military and DOD civilian retirees 68.5 Credit card bill for borrowing to fund the Pentagon 185.0 Grand Total 2012 "Defense" Budget
1,184.2 Total Costs (so far) of Iraq and Afghanistan Wars 3,977.9 Estimated Cost of WWII (in 2012 dollars) 4,100.0
This brings the 2012 national security budget to a staggering $1.2 trillion, which is 1/3 of the entire budget and nearly equal to the amount that will be added to the national credit card this year. The cost in blood is incalculable. b,c
How much of this is "defense" and how much is global empire and crony capitalism?
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The U.S. interventionist foreign policy has created an unending global war and an unending credit card bill. We simply can't afford it any more and it's high time we face reality, Rick, that "the single biggest threat to our national security is the national debt" (that, and neocons who want to hurry the return of Jesus by killing more Muslims). d,e,f
There is only one candidate in the 2012 presidential race who is talking about the 800 pound military-industrial-deficit-gorilla in the room. That man is Ron Paul. It's no wonder the neocons hate him.
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"The problem in defense is how far you can go without destroying from within what you are trying to defend from without." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower
"Billions for defense, not a penny for empire." -- Ron Paul
References:
a - Rick Santorum at the recent Arizona GOP debate claimed that defense spending was only 17% of the budget and had nothing to do with the deficit. (Fox News)
b - Bruce Fein, Weinstein is wrong about defense spending and Ron Paul (The Daily Caller)
c - A New Perspective on the Cost of War (Demonocracy.info)
d - Quote from General Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (DOD)
e - Bush explained to French Pres. Chirac that the Biblical creatures Gog and Magog were at work in the Mid-East and must be defeated. (Alternet.org)
f - Millions of Americans believe that Jesus will not come again until Israel wipes out its enemies (with God's help) in a widespread war in the Middle East. Many whack-jobs want to start a huge fire of war and death and destruction, so that Jesus comes quickly. (Huffington Post, PBS here and here).
