"MISSILE DEFENSE" BASE ON EAST COAST?
- Senate
Republicans including Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), on Thursday threw their support behind a controversial proposal to
develop an East Coast "missile defense" site in the U.S. to defend against Iranian
intercontinental ballistic missiles that do not yet exist. Maine and New York state have been suggested as potential locations for the base. The House of Representatives passed a bill last spring calling for the east coast MD base. The Senate had yet to officially act on the issue. Negotiations are now underway in the Senate on the Defense Authorization Bill. While I don't think it is likely that a base construction funding amendment will make it into the final bill it is very possible that language calling for a "study" of the base could pass. Some Democrats have in the past expressed support for such a study. This is how things happen in Washington - bad seeds get planted and they eventually sprout into expensive and destabilizing new weapons programs. We need to bring this crazy plan into the light and help drive a stake through it while we can. Maine Veterans For Peace voted last night to oppose any such base in our state or any place else.
- But in the end we find most politicians these days supporting anything that will bring "jobs" into their state. Since the Pentagon is practically the only game in town anymore, they get more than 54% of every federal discretionary tax dollar, the political beasts are on their bended knees begging for any of that largess to be brought home. If America's role under corporate globalization is going to be "security export" then why not get a piece of the action? That is the prevailing sentiment these days.
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The claim that we need jobs is legitimate but it routinely overlooks one simple fact. Jobs are a means to an end; these jobs are supposed to provide a benefit to society not just the people that get paid. When jobs in the private sector involve selling fraudulent items this involves stealing from one sucker to pay another. When it is in the government the sucker is the tax payer.
ReplyDeleteEducation and roads etc. provide something worthwhile and they're being cut; corporate welfare and the military don't and they go untouched.