Socializing America’s Defense Industry
Given his erratic behavior, from daily Twitter eruptions to upping his tally of lies by the hour, it’s hard to think of Donald Trump as a man with a plan. But in at least one area — reshaping the economy to serve the needs of the military-industrial complex —... Read more
Donald Trump’s Space Force Is a Scam
On June 18, 2018, Pres. Donald Trump announced he was directing the Pentagon to develop a new branch of the U.S. military, a “Space Force” that would give the United States “dominance” in that realm. It would be, he said — and here he used a classic phrase from... Read more
American Weapons Cause Chaos All Over the World
American weapons makers have dominated the global arms trade for decades. In any given year, they’ve accounted for somewhere between one-third and more than one-half the value of all international weapons sales. It’s hard to imagine things getting much worse — or better, if you happen to be an... Read more
Pump Up the Pentagon
Other than shouting about building a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, one of Pres. Donald Trump’s most frequently proclaimed promises on the 2016 campaign trail was the launching of a half-trillion-dollar plan to repair America’s crumbling infrastructure, employing large numbers of workers in the process. Eighteen months into his... Read more
Donald Trump and the Art of the Arms Deal
It’s one of those stories of the century that somehow never gets treated that way. For an astounding 25 of the past 26 years, the United States has been the leading arms-dealer on the planet, at some moments in near monopolistic fashion. Its major weapons-producers, including Boeing, Raytheon and... Read more
How the Pentagon Devours the Federal Budget
Imagine for a moment a scheme in which American taxpayers were taken to the cleaners to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars and there was barely a hint of criticism or outrage. Imagine as well that the White House and a majority of the politicians in Washington,... Read more
Spending More on the Military Doesn’t Make America Safer
On Feb. 7, 2018, the U.S. Senate reached a budget deal that would increase spending for the Pentagon and nuclear weapons to a mind-blowing $700 billion in 2018, while locking in an even higher figure for 2019. This would put the Pentagon budget at one of its highest levels... Read more
2018 Will Be a Good Year for Arms-Makers
As Pres. Donald Trump might put it, major weapons contractors such as Boeing, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin cashed in “bigly” in his first year in office. They raked in tens of billions of dollars in Pentagon contracts, while posting sharp stock price increases and healthy profits driven by the... Read more
Massive Overkill

Massive Overkill

WIB politics November 15, 2017

This piece has been updated and adapted from William Hartung’s “Nuclear Politics,” in Sleepwalking to Armageddon: The Threat of Nuclear Annihilation, edited by Helen Caldicott and published by New Press. Until recently, few of us woke up worrying about the threat of nuclear war. Such dangers seemed like Cold... Read more
Let’s Talk About Who Really Benefits From U.S. Defense Spending
Hawks on Capitol Hill and in the U.S. military routinely justify increases in the Defense Department’s already munificent budget by arguing that yet more money is needed to “support the troops.” If you’re already nodding in agreement, let me explain just where a huge chunk of the Pentagon budget... Read more