quote:

Originally posted by Izzy well you opened up with an image of military spending as % of GDP. I just wanted to put it in reference and say its not that out of the norm in comparision to other contries. I believe that the goverments first and most important priority is to protect the lives of its citizens. From outside factors such as other countries (hence military), natural disasters (hence national gaurd) to inside dangers (hence police and fire departments). I dont think there is anything to fear about the American military complex because at the end of the day it can only do what is decided upon by the president and congress (ie, we the people).

My intro was a graph that was posted by NeoPhono in another thread. If you click on the "Originally posted by" it will take you to that thread. Yeah, in retrospect I should have made the link more obvious, but it's there nevertheless.

As far as our government's priorities, what you stated would be ideal. If only they were so concerned about us lowly taxpayers.

I won't fault you for your naivety. You just fail to realize how much of a dominant role the Military Industrial Complex plays in our current administration. As Bush has stated many times, he is "The War President!"



http://costofwar.com