President George Bush proposed a record $439.3 billion US defense budget for 2007 aimed at fighting both unconventional terrorism and major conflicts with other nations if necessary. (Google News)
Currently, the Defense Department says it is spending about $4.5 billion a month on the conflict in Iraq, or about $100,000 per minute. (The Brad Blog)
I just love the modern use of the word defense. According to the Oxford dictionary:
- the action of defending from or resisting attack
- military measures or resources for protecting a country
It seems that ‘defending from or resisting attack’ has come to mean preemptively attacking a country on the other side of the world for supposed ‘weapons of mass destruction’ that never even existed. Now we spend $4.5 billion a month occupying the country. And how much did we spend on aid in the middle east and Africa before this ‘war on terror’?
Perhaps if we had been more proactive and less-greedy in our aid and foreign policy in the first place, there wouldn’t be this current ‘war on terror’. One can never fully justify terrorist actions. However, terrorists don’t just spring up out of nowhere for the fun of it; there is a cause for everything, especially extremism. When will America and its allies look at the root cause of terrorism?
You’re damn right.. America have made themselves so many enemies over the years.
They’re all brawn, no brains. America, next time you feel like manipulating a government, or straight out attacking a people, have a think about the bloody consequences!
It seems to me the only way they’ll ever have peace (and the only way *we’ll* ever have peace) is if America make some attempt at reconciliation.
That’ll never happen though – Good ol’ American pride!
“here here”
and one can only hope mike !!!
“When will America and its allies look at the root cause of terrorism?”
… that’s a bloody good question daniel !!!
AMEN. brother