Pentagon Will Cut Services and Benefits To Soldiers While Protecting Profits of Defense Industry
William Hartung: Those who fight the wars will face cuts, but not high- ranking military personnel or the companies that build weapons - February 25, 2014
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=11526 JAISAL NOOR, TRNN PRODUCER: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Jaisal Noor in Baltimore.
Now joining us to discuss this is William Hartung.
William D. Hartung is the director of the Arms and Security Project at the Center for International Policy. He is an internationally recognized expert on the arms trade, nuclear policy, and military spending. He is the author of Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex (Nation Books: 2011). His previous books include And Weapons for All (HarperCollins, 1995), a critique of U.S. arms sales policies from the Nixon through Clinton administrations; and Lessons from Iraq: Avoiding the Next War, co-edited with Miram Pemberton (Paradigm Press, 2008). Prior to working at the Center for International Policy Mr. Hartung was a project director at the New America Foundation and a Senior Research Fellow at the New York-based World Policy Institute. He also worked as a speechwriter and policy analyst for New York State Attorney General Robert Abrams and a project director at the New York-based Council on Economic Priorities
On Monday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel outlined a Pentagon budget that will reduce the size of the military and curtail certain weapons systems. The proposal is an alternative to across-the-board cuts which will be implemented because of the so-called sequester.
We mentioned defense contractors and how they will be benefiting from this. The stocks of all but three major defense contractors hit a 52-week high on Monday, and the stock price of Lockheed Martin, the nation's largest defense contractor, hit an all-time high as Hagel detailed the Pentagon's plans.
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For a full understanding of what this means please listen to the interview, transcript available at TRNN.
No surprises, the money always finds its way to those who profit from war, while the way we war morphs...as we realize the true cost of these neverending wars.
One ironic thing about that is that it's not as many jobs as it used to be, especially on the side of defense contracts. So, for instance, the biggest defense contract in the United States right now and for many years running has been Lockheed Martin. Well, Lockheed has cut down a tremendous number of jobs in recent years, despite the fact that they're getting more military contract dollars than ever. So what Congress is doing is throwing increasing dollars at these contractors for a diminishing number of jobs in some cases.
As is often the case, the future of defense spending depends on the erratic trends of politics and military operations abroad. Obama's $5.6 billion request to fight ISIS, the Republican takeover of the Senate, and the nomination of Ashton Carter as Secretary of Defense are all developments that should be watched closely in the coming months.
But among these variables, one area of defense will most likely remain consistent. That's the purpose OCO, or the war budget, will serve of incorporating and then shielding defense spending from any cuts due to sequestration.
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Obviously, despite all of their scare tactics, one thing remains constant, the MIC. I suspect the same will hold true for all the profiteers of DHS, despite MSM talking points.
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Pentagon Will Cut Services and Benefits To Soldiers While Protecting Profits of Defense Industry (Original post)
