The Watson Institute at Brown University (Rhode Island) released its report 'Costs of War,' revealing the astronomical sum of $5.9 trillion and well over 500,000 killed due to the never-ending so-called war on terror.
This new report takes into account not only Department of Defense spending, but spending by the departments of state, veterans affairs and homeland security as well as the cost of interest paid to date on the money the U.S. has borrowed to pay for the wars.
These areas of spending are not included in the Pentagon accounting of war costs, the researchers say, so many of the wars’ budgetary burdens, from the cost of providing medical care and disability payments to veterans to the cost of missions related to preventing and responding to terrorist threats, go unacknowledged in Pentagon estimates.
The report was published on the heels of the news that the Pentagon failed its first and only audit.
“We failed the audit, but we never expected to pass it,” Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan told reporters, adding that the findings showed the need for greater discipline in financial matters within the Pentagon.
“It was an audit on a $2.7 trillion dollar organization, so the fact that we did the audit is substantial,” Shanahan added.
The U.S. war budget for the 2018 fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30 was over $700 billion.
The Pentagon has never been interested in real fiscal oversight - there is virtually none in Washington. How could we ever forget the pallets of shrink wrapped $100 bills given to commanders to hand out to Iraqi soldiers to get them to sit out the resistance to US occupation? How many of those US field commanders stuffed the $$$ into duffel bags and carried them back home? Some reportedly bought new trucks and houses with the hard earned tax dollars of people who were working 2-3 jobs back in the US. The irony is these thieves are called 'heroes' for their 'service' in Iraq.
The entire war machine is one big criminal enterprise - being run by some of the most corrupt people in the world. Lucky for them they have one hell of an expensive Madison Avenue public relations campaign that keeps the American people fooled by hollow patriotism and a sense of exceptionalism based on distorted history and religious dogma.
We are witnessing the internal collapse of the US empire and the corporate weapons industry response is to create even more wars (Iran next?) and demand unlimited spending on new plans (Space Force) to drive the arms race into the heavens.
We live in a nation where millions of citizens are unhealthy and have been brainwashed to think paranoid and aggressive thoughts. Most of the world hates our government and wonders why the American people keep so quiet about all the corruption that surrounds us.
I wonder the same thing as well.
Bruce
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