TheWiseOldFart

Our nation’s leadership at all levels is dominated by hypocrisy. One issue I have addressed multiple times involves our nation’s military who serve in war zones at the will of Congress and the Pentagon. It’s been the same old story all of my life, from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Pentagon tells Congress that they need more troops to win the war, and they say how many. With each increase in the number of soldiers ready to give their lives for who knows what, the number of body bags is doubled. The fat asses who sit in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill will not be risking their lives or the lives of their children in battle. The irony is that our military leaders have lost every illegal and immoral war since WWII. The sad truth is that none of the young men I knew who were forced to fight in Vietnam knew what they were fighting for. I make an admission here about my negative personal feelings for the military. However, it has no influence in this story. In the mid 1960’s the war ...

Op-ed by TheWiseOldFart I have no doubt that the brass in the Pentagon is pleased and proud that the government of the United States spends five-times more money on its military budget than all other nations combined. But why does our government continue to raise the Pentagon’s annual budget when it wastes 50 cents of every dollar they receive? (The latter according to several “watchdog groups.”) We are a nation which is constantly preparing for the next war. However, there are no plans for permanent peace. It is undeniable that if a third World War begins, it will end with the complete destruction of our planet. So, why does our military continue to pay for the manufacture of machines to fight ground wars? Not a single “conventional war” has been fought since WWII. Let me offer one classic example of military waste and plans for spending even more taxpayer dollars on equipment which will likely do nothing but gather dust until a new version comes along. Our military has about 3,700 Br...

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. T...