Defense Spending is Bigger Now than During the Cold War Era?

The Cold War was one of the most popular and significant event in the history of military defense. The war was basically an ongoing political and military conflict between the then powerful Soviet Union and the Western Powers which was spearheaded by the United States of America. It was during that time where nations heavily increased their military and defense spending to produce numerous military technologies. The arms race was very rapid that every nation tried to create the perfect technology to put them at a strategic advantage against the opposition.

Massachusetts's House Representative Barney Frank told the media figures showed that the U.S. accounts for the majority of world defense spending as opposed to figures during the Cold war era. He emphasized that during the Cold war, the U.S. was only accounted for 26% of worldwide military spending. Today, the U.S. has increased spending and now covers over 41% of world military expenditures. The figures show that the U.S. is now spending more on defense compared to the Cold War Era where war was more likely to happen.

A study was then held to validate the claim of Mr. Frank. The result of the study concluded that Frank’s claim was somewhat inaccurate and his assumptions were not enough to draw a conclusion that the U.S. has indeed spent more today compared to the more hostile years of the Cold War. For example, the data from the Cold War was only taken out from a single year considering that the war lasted for over 44 years. Also during the period between 1986 until 2006, the worldwide defense spending has significantly dropped by 40%. This proves that a defense spending comparison between the Cold War era and Today’s time isn’t meaningful at all.

It was assumed the Barney Frank used this to create a consensus about cutting military spending. While Frank’s report isn’t factual, there should still be a social awareness with regards to the U.S. defense spending. According to a reliable source which lists the top nations according to defense expenditures, the U.S. defense spending is higher than the next 9 or 10 countries that trail it. $663 billion is being spent solely for military purposes without really having any major or global war. While the country is struggling financially, a huge amount of the budget goes to military technology which isn’t really an urgent necessity. The government should review their budget allocation procedures and retrace their priorities.

More War Funds Spent for Troop Surge

A few days ago, we heard from all over the news world about the sudden disclosure of confidential and important documents regarding the war in Afghanistan. The documents suggest that the US armed forces and its allies are indeed struggling to keep pace with the war and are starting to lose hold on it. With so many allied casualties reported every day, there might be more that went unreported. It also introduced the idea that the US may have fought the wrong war and are now starting the rip the consequences.

It is evident that the US has already spent billions and billions of dollars for this never ending war. Such a huge budget mostly goes to troop deployment cost, ammunitions and foreign aid. The US has been providing aid to foreign country where in fact they themselves have already accumulated so much debt. The US has also often claimed significant victories which the recent disclosed documents have proved otherwise. After 9 years of war, the Taliban insurgency hasn’t weakened and it may be stronger now than before.

Just recently, the US house has recently voted to approve $33 billion in war funding for the war effort in Afghanistan. This funding will be used for the additional 30,000 US troops which will be deployed in Afghanistan. The Government and the military forces seem unaffected by the scandalous nature of the leaked documents. Though they strongly condemned the release of such secret documents, it seems that they are unfazed and are still certain that they can handle the Afghan situation more precisely.

Before the actual voting procedure, one of the participants Rep. Jim McGovern, stated that the leaked documents indicated corruption and mismanagement by high ranking government officials in pursuing an Afghan government. McGovern also emphasized that the US government is more concerned at borrowing $33 billion to fund a foreign government rather than spend it on internal affairs such as education, health and social services.

The US goals in Afghanistan are all blurry and bleak. Too much lives and bloodshed are encountered by US troops and the government still hasn’t gotten the real lesson. The troop surge of 30,000 additional troops is a clear indication that the Obama administration is not paying attention to real and factual details. I personally hope that they wake up in their dreams and start realizing that the government of America is for the Americans and not for other foreign nationalities. If the US government is able to waste $33 billion on a silly and unwinnable war, why can’t they spend more money on basic social services such as unemployment benefits, healthcare insurance and education which will benefit more the American society?