Fred Kaplan in Slate says the Cold War never ended for U.S. nuclear weapons spending, which is as high as it’s ever been, in constant dollars.
The report raises anew a question that always springs to mind after a close look at the U.S. military budget: What the hell is going on here? Specifically: Do we really need to be spending this kind of money on nuclear weapons? What role do nuclear weapons play in 21st-century military policy? How many weapons do we need, to deter what sort of attack or to hit what sorts of targets, with what level of confidence, for what strategic and tactical purposes?
This link pokes a toe under the tent of a reality that no American wants to admit: The Pentagon is the world’s most powerful make-work program — a welfare scheme that spreads U.S. taxpayer wealth across every layer of society, from high-tech billionaires to high school grads. It certainly does more good than harm, with the small exception that spending all this money on warmaking obliges you to fight some wars to justify it.
(Link via kuro5hin).
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