Plenty of Money for the Pentagon
W.J. Astore Inside the Washington beltway, the debate is never focused on making major cuts to the defense budget, then using that money to improve infrastructure, health care, education, and other...
View ArticleThe F-35 Fighter: Not Invisible to Trump’s Radar
W.J. Astore Is Donald Trump putting coal in Lockheed Martin’s Christmas stocking? Trump has sent another tweet about the F-35 jet fighter (Lockheed Martin is the primary contractor), this time asking...
View ArticleNational Defense versus Global (In)Security
W.J. Astore Our government likes to talk about global security, which in their minds is basically synonymous with homeland security. They argue that the best defense is a good offense, that “leaning...
View ArticleThe Biggest National Security Threats
W.J. Astore Today at 2PM, the Trump administration releases its National Security Strategy. It’s already making news because Trump is dropping climate change (added by the Obama administration) as a...
View ArticleIke’s Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex Is Alive and Very Well
W.J. Astore The new Congressional budget boosts military spending in a big way. Last night’s PBS News report documented how military spending is projected to increase by $160 billion over two years,...
View ArticleWhy the Pentagon Gets So Much Money So Easily
W.J. Astore Over at Foreign Policy, there’s a good article on how the Pentagon gets so much money so easily. Basically, the Pentagon complains about lack of “readiness” for war, and Congress caves....
View ArticleMonday Military Musings
W.J. Astore Three news items caught my eye, courtesy of FP: Foreign Policy. The first involves the U.S. Navy, which has “inked a $14.9 billion contract for two Ford-class aircraft carriers, according...
View ArticleAn Anti-War Democrat Can Win the Presidency in 2020
W.J. Astore How can Democrats win the presidency in 2020? The answer is simple: field a candidate who’s genuinely anti-war. A candidate focused on America and the domestic health of our country...
View ArticleDreaming Big About the U.S. Military
W.J. Astore As the U.S. military enjoys enormous budgets ($718 billion this year, rising possibly to $750 billion for 2020), Americans are told not to dream big. There might just be a connection here....
View ArticleTen Ways to Work Toward Peace
W.J. Astore I came across this quotation yesterday: “I am worried about the state of the readiness of the nuclear triad,” Deputy SecDef nominee Kath Hicks tells the Senate Armed Services Committee...
View ArticleThe Pentagon as Business and Church
Ike had it right W.J. Astore Military spending is supposed to be about keeping America safe. It’s supposed to be tied to vital national interests. And at roughly $750 billion a year (for defense,...
View ArticleThe Pentagon Cowbird
W.J. Astore Three years ago, nature provided me a lesson in bird parasitism and its repercussions. Unbeknownst to me and especially to the yellow warblers I was watching, a cowbird snuck an egg into...
View Article
More Pages to Explore .....