Almost 23 years ago, I wrote a short pamphlet, Defense Power Games. My aim then (as it is now) was to explain why the end of the Cold War would not produce a peace dividend in the form of reduced defense budgets that were substantially lower that those averaged during America's Cold War with the Soviet Union.
Take a quick scan of Defense Power Games … now watch this 25 minute video — America's War Games — (also on youtube here) just released by Aljazeera for its People and Power segment. The video explains why the end of the War on Terror will not, like the end of the Cold War did not, result in a peace dividend
Santayana wrote that those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it. After watching “America's War Games,” ask yourself two simple questions:
- “What has changed since the Defense Power Games pamphlet was published in 1990?”
- “Will the end of the War on Terror produce a dividend?”
I submit the answers are self-evident: (1) “Nothing” and (2) “No”
But one thing that has changed: Our economy is in far greater trouble today than it was in 1990, although the seeds for the current disaster were being merrily planted during the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, as well as in the 1990s, not to mention the first decade of the 21st Century. And this time around, it ought to be clear that continuing to assign grossly excessive amounts of scarce resources (capital and skilled labour) to defense spending will make America's current economic problems worse.
So, how can we reduce the defense budget to free up the funds needed by both the private and public sectors to reinvigorate our economy?
Continue reading “Chuck Spinney: America's War Games — to the Death”
