Biden’s first Pentagon budget increase small…but still an increase

President Biden’s first Pentagon budget disappoints. While being transformational on domestic affairs, Biden is same old, same old in foreign policy; more money for the military.

He’s proposed $753 billion for defense, up 1.8% over Trump’s last budget of $740 million.

America deserved a decrease for several reasons. Why an increase when America is winding down one war, Afghanistan, this year, and negotiating an end to its neighboring war in Iraq. That alone should save billions to house and supply roughly 6,000 troops in 2 countries who want them out.

We could also save billions by reducing our large troop contingents in Germany and South Korea. There is no need for 28,000 troops in South Korea and 36,000 troops in Germany. Neither country is under threat while both have the capability to handle any future enemy. A big reason they do little to prepare for potential threat is reliance on Uncle Sam.

They spend their treasure to uplift their societies. America does the reverse; spending its treasure to prop up client states while letting American infrastructure crumble.

Speaking of reverse, how about American’s reverse Monroe doctrine. It’s supposed to be that foreign countries must stay out of America’s neighborhood. But it’s morphed into the whole world becoming America’s neighborhood in which only America can interfere.

This simply serves the interests of the Military-Industrial Complex which need new Cold War against both Russia and China to keep the expanding defense spending.

Defense spending is a misnomer. Ever larger defense budgets are mainly offensive in two senses. They promote offensive U.S. militarism worldwide. They are an offense to the need for investment in America and its people suffering to feed the beast of unbridled militarism.