The Afghanistan War Is Over. But the Defense Budget Is Still About to Go Up.

[babylonsister]

The Afghanistan War Is Over. But the Defense Budget Is Still About to Go Up.
Congress is set to pass a spending bill about $40 billion more than the one approved last year.
Dan Spinelli


After the United States military stopped fighting wars in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam, Congress went on to appropriate less funding for defense in subsequent years. But now that the US has pulled out of Afghanistan, ending the longest war in American history, it seems unlikely that the pattern will repeat itself.

With the House set to vote on a defense policy bill this week, Congress is preparing to increase the Pentagon budget in fiscal year 2021-22 to around $740 billion, a figure that surpasses President Joe Biden’s request by roughly $25 billion. That would be nearly $37 billion more than Congress approved in Donald Trump’s last year in office.

When Biden issued his budget proposal in April, he requested $715 billion for the Pentagon, a slight increase over last year’s $704 billion budget. This increase—at a time when Biden’s party controls both the House and Senate—is a reminder of how bipartisan support for more military spending is one of the only things you can predict in Washington.

"One would think that ending America's longest war would reap more savings," Erica Fein, senior Washington director at the progressive advocacy group Win Without War, told me. "It remains especially egregious that in the middle of a pandemic, official Washington finds spending three-quarters-of-a-trillion-dollars on the Pentagon acceptable."

more...

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/09/the-afghanistan-war-is-over-but-the-defense-budget-is-still-about-to-go-up/

[Budi]

2. Erica Fein, assumes that post-Aghanistan there is no longer a threat to the US & it's global allies.

Those threatening authoritarian nations that have the US in is sights since 9/11 STILL EXIST.

We'd all like to live in a world without war, & without the exploitation allowed to run rampant within it, but until Erica Fein stops pretending there is no cause for a Defense System like IRON DOME, for example, her words are moot.

Russia, Iran, N Korea, China, Saudi, etc. have already done much damage to this world, I for one would prefer we remain prepared & vigilant.
We are already weakend to the point of fragile, as well as much smaller nations under a gov't of Democracy.

Global Domination is the very real threat.
"End the Wars" is a necessary theme to promote, until the bottom collapses from a nation's Democracy.

There is reason to be vigilant Erica Fein, perhaps she could adderss her ideas for solutions & alternatives that haven't already been tried.
Perhaps she can name the authoritarian global threats to Democratic nations & Name those threats.
If she believes those authoritarian gov'ts aren't setting their sights on destroying the mighty US with pleasure, then she has some work to do.

How does the US defend itself & it's allies, then Ms Erica Fein?

Right now Ukraine has requested the Iron Dome Defense System because the threat from looming Russia is closing in.
What is Erica Fein's advice & solution she'd give to Ukraine right now?

I'd really like to hear it.

[leftstreet]

3. DURec

[gratuitous]

4. The reason: The world's more dangerous now than ever!

You will see this trope trotted out and walked around the ring several times should the increasing of the defense budget get noticed in the popular media.