AlterNet: Ask the Candidates: Will They Cut a Bloated 20th-Century Military Budget?

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Ask the Candidates: Will They Cut a Bloated 20th-Century Military Budget?

By Jack Shanahan, AlterNet. Posted September 20, 2007.


Want to invest more in education? Healthcare? Infrastructure? Candidates are looking at trimming the Cold War relics in the military budget.



In the arcane world occupied by defense budget analysts, a remarkable development is occurring in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Presidential candidates are talking about cutting Cold War relics from the defense budget, a move that could save tens of billions of tax dollars that are badly needed for schools, renewable energy, international development, and more.

You might think that no candidate, other than Rep. Dennis Kucinich and Sen. Mike Gravel, would dare mention a wasteful weapons system to be axed, for fear of being sledge-hammered with the "weak on defense" canard.

But a handful of prominent Democrats have had the guts to name specific systems that should be cut, and this could set the stage for a debate about defense spending that America has sorely needed since the end of the Cold War.

The issue first bubbled up to the national stage during the June 3 Democratic presidential debate in Manchester, N.H., when Wolf Blitzer followed up on a question from the audience. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/audits/62826/