TheWiseOldFart

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   Watchdog groups claim that fifty cents out of every dollar receiv ed by the Pentagon annually is waste d. It was clear during the George W. Bu sh Administration that the illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq helped the Bush family, Dick Cheney, and Deputy Secretary of Defense, Paul Wolfowitz become multi-billionaires.    “War is good business .” Investing in the military industrial complex makes billionaires out of millionaires.     THE UNITED STATES MILITARY IS POWERFUL, AND FUNDED FIVE-TIMES MORE THAN ALL OTHER NAITONS COMBINED   The annual budget of our nation’s military is nearing one-trillion dollars per year. This, combined with the fact that this amoun t is five-times more than all other nation’s combined should guarantee victory in any military conflict, large or small. So, let’s look a t history.   The Korean Conflict occurred between Jun 25, 1950 – Jul 27, 1953 . When the conflict ended, there was no winn er. There was “an end to hostilities,”

  Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart   2006. This was the first year the F-35 combat aircraft rolled out of the Lockheed-Martin factory in Fort Worth Texas. In September of 2023, problems with the aircraft continue and there is no expected date for mass production. The Pentagon’s budget is nearing one-trillion dollars annually. However, projects like the F-35 have proven not to be cost effective. This is government waste at its worst. The recent estimate claims that one aircraft will cost about $120 billion, with long term costs estimated to reach $1.3 trillion over an estimated 66-year lifespan. Here’s what’s interesting. Tests of the F-35 have been inconclusive. In a simulated “dogfight,” it lost to the now antiquated F-16. No one can guarantee its effectiveness or reliability in actual combat situations. Let’s look at another situation reported from the Herlong Army Base in Northern California. It has been reported that there are hundreds of Abrams Tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles