What do the two stories have to do with each other? In their own ways, they each touch on a subject that we rarely ever discuss in America: defense industry profiteering.
We hear a lot out of Washington about how we need to cut programs for the poor and middle class, in order to deal with the deficit or finance new tax cuts. The rhetoric makes it seem as if these programs are the real culprit driving our country into oceans of red ink.
But a quick look at the numbers shows that it is defense/security spending that is soaring, while non-defense discretionary spending has been flat. For a more local view of how most of your tax dollars go to defense and not "social programs," just see the 2005 study by the National Priorities Project.
Most politicians of both parties are either too bought off, or too frightened of being labeled "weak" to even talk about defense industry profiteering. They simply throw more and more money at the defense industry, with almost no regard as to whether what we are spending money on will actually help us effectively shore up our national security in a 21st century where we face unconventional threats. They are rewarded with huge campaign contributions from a politically well-connected defense industry swimming in cash.
But while politicians may be too corrupt or too pathetically wimpy to address defense spending seriously, former Reagan Pentagon official Larry Korb notes that there's one group of people who clearly support a major reevaluation of defense spending: the vast majority of Americans. As Korb notes:
And Korb points out there are ways to immediately start seeing savings - savings that could be put either into more important national security priorities, or other pressing priorities altogether:
"Over $40 billion in savings from wasteful Pentagon programs could be achieved quickly - by cutting only the most egregious examples of misplaced priorities. These programs include the F-22 Raptor fighter jet and Virginia Class submarines, designed to achieve superiority over Soviet jets and submarines that were never built; missile defense, proposed when terrorists were not our primary enemy; bases in Asia, Europe and here at home that are irrelevant in today's geopolitical reality."
Before anyone tries to paint these facts with the pathetically hackneyed "weak on national security" brush, remember - it was none other than neoconservative poster boy Donald Rumsfeld who recently advocated for military "transformation" - including major cuts to outdated weapons systems that contractors were getting fat off of.
And though Rumsfeld has since backed off his efforts, the Cunningham fiasco and the fact that a defense contractor has $10 million to throw around on a bat mitzvah should remind us that the defense industry is getting hugely wealthy off of America's misguided national security policy - a policy that allows defense industry profiteering to go on with no restriction, a policy clearly pushed by this industry as a way to make more money.
Whereas in eras past, courageous leaders like Harry Truman opened up investigations into this kind of profiteering, today, lawmakers go out of their way to actually prevent scrutiny. Remember, it was the Senate last year that voted down legislation to create stiffer penalties for war profiteers, and it was Vice President Cheney who went to the Senate floor to curse off the bill's sponsors for having the nerve to even raise the issue.
When will it end? When lawmakers of both parties start putting America's national security concerns over the concerns of their defense industry campaign donors. In an era where every politician wants to be "pro-national security" - allowing defense industry profiteering is exactly the opposite. It drains resources away from the programs that actually protect our troops but have been underfunded, and it undermines a more effective 21st century defense policy that would better protect America.
Sources:
Cunningham driving around in a Rolls Royce:
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/13278207.htm
Lloyd Grove on the $10 million bat mitzvah:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/col/story/369995p-314735c.html
Non-defense discretionary spending is flat:
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=bijrj8ovf&b=25077
2005 study on defense spending by the National Priorities Project
Bush-connected defense firms pocket huge contracts then overcharge the government:
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20030512/editors
Boeing's sweetheart defense contract
Politicians still throwing more money at the defense industry, with no regard for where its going:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/a32689-2004jun10.html
Defense industry campaign contributions:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/a32689-2004jun10.html
Reagan official Larry Korb on the need to cut wasteful defense spending:
http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=bijrj8ovf&b=474349
Rumseld pushes for military "transformation":
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0105/012805nj1.htm
Rumsfeld pushes cuts to outdated weapons systems:
http://archives.cnn.com/2002/allpolitics/05/08/rumsfeld.crusader/
Weapons system targeted by Rumsfeld making Bush-connected firm rich:
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines02/0514-05.htm
Senate votes down tougher penalties on war profiteers:
http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0604/061704cdam1.htm
Cheney curses off Senate sponsor of war profiteer legislation:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/allpolitics/06/24/cheney.leahy/
While defense industry profiteers, critical programs for soldiers go underfunded:
http://www.slate.com/id/2095705/
