Merchants of Death

 

Almost one-half of the estimated $14 trillion that the Pentagon has spent since 9/11 has gone to private military contractors, among them Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, and General Dynamics.

A report written by William Hartung, the director of the Arms and Security Program at the Center for International Policy, documents how corporations large and small have been, by far, the largest beneficiaries of the post – 9/11 surge in military spending.

“The magnitude of Pentagon spending in the wake of the 9/11 attacks was remarkable. The increase in U.S. military spending between the Fiscal Year 2002 and Fiscal Year 2003 was more than the entire military budget of any other country, including major powers like China, Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.”

These “merchants of death” have spent $2.5 billion on lobbying over the past two decades, employing, on average, over 700 lobbyists per year over the past five years. That is more than one for every member of Congress.

The US military budget has been increased year after year, no matter who is in the White House or who has a majority in Congress. It appears that Democrats and Republicans can agree on one thing, siphoning off our tax money to reward the “merchants of death”.

Did all of this money make the world a safer, better place? Did it protect Americans from the multiple crises we face today? Perhaps we should ask the families of the more than 600,000 Americans who have died of COVID and the countless number who have died deaths of despair since 9/11. Or the residents of the Gulf Coast recently devastated by Hurricane Ida (again). Or the veterans who can’t get necessary care because the VA isn’t adequately funded. Or, better yet, the tens of millions who have died or become refugees as a result of the US wars and drone strikes in the Middle East and elsewhere.

Following the carnage of WWI, in both the press and in Congress, voices were raised about the “merchants of death”. Where are they now???