<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content="text/html; charset=windows-1252" http-equiv=Content-Type>
<META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.18882"></HEAD>
<BODY style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fff" bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">
<DIV> </DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><SPAN style="DISPLAY: none"> </SPAN> <!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlStartT|**|-~-->
<DIV style="POSITION: relative" id=ygrp-mlmsg>
<DIV style="Z-INDEX: 1" id=ygrp-msg><!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlEndT|**|-~-->
<DIV id=ygrp-text>
<P><A
href="http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/eric_margolis/2010/02/05/12758511-qmi.html">http://www.torontos<WBR>un.com/comment/<WBR>columnists/<WBR>eric_margolis/<WBR>2010/02/05/<WBR>12758511-<WBR>qmi.html</A><BR>
<H3>Wars sending U.S. into ruin </H3>
<P class=subheadline>Obama the peace president is fighting battles his country
cannot afford </P>
<P class=byline>By <SPAN>ERIC MARGOLIS, QMI Agency </SPAN></P>
<P class=updated>Last Updated: 5th February 2010, 1:25pm</P>U.S. President
Barack Obama calls the $3.8-trillion US budget he just sent to Congress a major
step in restoring America’s economic health.
<P>In fact, it’s another potent fix given to a sick patient deeply addicted to
the dangerous drug — debt. </P>
<P>More empires have fallen because of reckless finances than invasion. The
latest example was the Soviet Union, which spent itself into ruin by buying
tanks. </P>
<P>Washington’s deficit (the difference between spending and income from taxes)
will reach a vertiginous $1.6 trillion US this year. The huge sum will be
borrowed, mostly from China and Japan, to which the U.S. already owes $1.5
trillion. Debt service will cost $250 billion. </P>
<P>To spend $1 trillion, one would have had to start spending $1 million daily
soon after Rome was founded and continue for 2,738 years until today. </P>
<P>Obama’s total military budget is nearly $1 trillion. This includes Pentagon
spending of $880 billion. Add secret black programs (about $70 billion);
military aid to foreign nations like Egypt, Israel and Pakistan; 225,000
military “contractors” (mercenaries and workers); and veterans’ costs. Add $75
billion (nearly four times Canada’s total defence budget) for 16 intelligence
agencies with 200,000 employees. </P>
<P>The Afghanistan and Iraq wars ($1 trillion so far), will cost $200-250
billion more this year, including hidden and indirect expenses. Obama’s Afghan
“surge” of 30,000 new troops will cost an additional $33 billion — more than
Germany’s total defence budget. </P>
<P>No wonder U.S. defence stocks rose after Peace Laureate Obama’s “austerity”
budget. </P>
<P>Military and intelligence spending relentlessly increase as unemployment
heads over 10% and the economy bleeds red ink. America has become the Sick Man
of the Western Hemisphere, an economic cripple like the defunct Ottoman Empire.
</P>
<P>The Pentagon now accounts for half of total world military spending. Add
America’s rich NATO allies and Japan, and the figure reaches 75%. </P>
<P>China and Russia combined spend only a paltry 10% of what the U.S. spends on
defence. </P>
<P>There are 750 U.S. military bases in 50 nations and 255,000 service members
stationed abroad, 116,000 in Europe, nearly 100,000 in Japan and South Korea.
</P>
<P>Military spending gobbles up 19% of federal spending and at least 44% of tax
revenues. During the Bush administration, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars — funded
by borrowing — cost each American family more than $25,000. </P>
<P>Like Bush, Obama is paying for America’s wars through supplemental
authorizations — putting them on the nation’s already maxed-out credit
card. Future generations will be stuck with the bill. </P>
<P>This presidential and congressional jiggery-pokery is the height of public
dishonesty. </P>
<P>America’s wars ought to be paid for through taxes, not bookkeeping fraud.
</P>
<P>If U.S. taxpayers actually had to pay for the Afghan and Iraq wars, these
conflicts would end in short order. </P>
<P>America needs a fair, honest war tax. </P>
<P>The U.S. clearly has reached the point of imperial overreach. Military
spending and debt-servicing are cannibalizing the U.S. economy, the real basis
of its world power. Besides the late U.S.S.R., the U.S. also increasingly
resembles the dying British Empire in 1945, crushed by immense debts incurred to
wage the Second World War, unable to continue financing or defending the
imperium, yet still imbued with imperial pretensions. </P>
<P>It is increasingly clear the president is not in control of America’s runaway
military juggernaut. Sixty years ago, the great President Dwight Eisenhower,
whose portrait I keep by my desk, warned Americans to beware of the
military-industrial complex. Six decades later, partisans of permanent war and
world domination have joined Wall Street’s money lenders to put America into
thrall. </P>
<P>Increasing numbers of Americans are rightly outraged and fearful of runaway
deficits. Most do not understand their political leaders are also spending their
nation into ruin through unnecessary foreign wars and a vainglorious attempt to
control much of the globe — what neocons call “full spectrum dominance.” </P>
<P>If Obama really were serious about restoring America’s economic health, he
would demand military spending be slashed, quickly end the Iraq and Afghan wars
and break up the nation’s giant Frankenbanks. <BR></P>
<P><BR></P>
<P></P></DIV><!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlStart|**|-~-->
<DIV style="HEIGHT: 0px; COLOR: #fff">__._,_.___</DIV>
<DIV
style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN-TOP: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 2px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; CLEAR: both; FONT-SIZE: 11px; PADDING-TOP: 0px"
id=ft><A style="FLOAT: left"
href="http://groups.yahoo.com/;_ylc=X3oDMTJlbGoyc2g0BF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzE1NzE0MDU5BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTA2MDY4MgRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTI2NTU1OTE2OQ--"><FONT
color=#000000 size=2></FONT></A> .</DIV></DIV></DIV><IMG
src="http://geo.yahoo.com/serv?s=97359714/grpId=15714059/grpspId=1705060682/msgId=16773/stime=1265559169/nc1=3848643/nc2=5733764/nc3=5191955"
width=1 height=1> <BR>
<DIV style="HEIGHT: 0px; COLOR: #fff">__,_._,___</DIV><!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlEnd|**|-~--><!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlStart|**|-~-->
<STYLE type=text/css>#ygrp-mkp {
BORDER-BOTTOM: #d8d8d8 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #d8d8d8 1px solid; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 10px 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BORDER-TOP: #d8d8d8 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #d8d8d8 1px solid; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
#ygrp-mkp HR {
BORDER-BOTTOM: #d8d8d8 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #d8d8d8 1px solid; BORDER-TOP: #d8d8d8 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #d8d8d8 1px solid
}
#ygrp-mkp #hd {
LINE-HEIGHT: 122%; MARGIN: 10px 0px; COLOR: #628c2a; FONT-SIZE: 85%; FONT-WEIGHT: 700
}
#ygrp-mkp #ads {
MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px
}
#ygrp-mkp .ad {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
#ygrp-mkp .ad A {
COLOR: #0000ff; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
#ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc {
FONT-FAMILY: Arial
}
#ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc #hd {
LINE-HEIGHT: 122%; MARGIN: 10px 0px; FONT-SIZE: 78%; FONT-WEIGHT: 700
}
#ygrp-sponsor #ygrp-lc .ad {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
A {
COLOR: #1e66ae
}
#actions {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; FONT-SIZE: 11px; PADDING-TOP: 10px
}
#activity {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; BACKGROUND-COLOR: #e0ecee; PADDING-LEFT: 10px; PADDING-RIGHT: 10px; FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; FLOAT: left; FONT-SIZE: 10px; PADDING-TOP: 10px
}
#activity SPAN {
FONT-WEIGHT: 700
}
#activity SPAN:first-child {
TEXT-TRANSFORM: uppercase
}
#activity SPAN A {
COLOR: #5085b6; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
#activity SPAN SPAN {
COLOR: #ff7900
}
#activity SPAN .underline {
TEXT-DECORATION: underline
}
.attach {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; WIDTH: 400px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; DISPLAY: table; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; CLEAR: both; FONT-SIZE: 12px; PADDING-TOP: 10px
}
.attach DIV A {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
.attach IMG {
BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none
}
.attach LABEL {
DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 5px
}
.attach LABEL A {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
BLOCKQUOTE {
MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 4px
}
.bold {
FONT-FAMILY: Arial; FONT-SIZE: 13px; FONT-WEIGHT: 700
}
.bold A {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
DD.last P A {
FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; FONT-WEIGHT: 700
}
DD.last P SPAN {
FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; FONT-WEIGHT: 700; MARGIN-RIGHT: 10px
}
DD.last P SPAN.yshortcuts {
MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px
}
DIV.attach-table DIV DIV A {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
DIV.attach-table {
WIDTH: 400px
}
DIV.file-title A {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
DIV.file-title A:active {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
DIV.file-title A:hover {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
DIV.file-title A:visited {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
DIV.photo-title A {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
DIV.photo-title A:active {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
DIV.photo-title A:hover {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
DIV.photo-title A:visited {
TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
DIV#ygrp-mlmsg #ygrp-msg P A SPAN.yshortcuts {
FONT-FAMILY: Verdana; FONT-SIZE: 10px; FONT-WEIGHT: normal
}
.green {
COLOR: #628c2a
}
.MsoNormal {
MARGIN: 0px
}
o {
FONT-SIZE: 0px
}
#photos DIV {
WIDTH: 72px; FLOAT: left
}
#photos DIV DIV {
BORDER-BOTTOM: #666666 1px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #666666 1px solid; WIDTH: 62px; HEIGHT: 62px; OVERFLOW: hidden; BORDER-TOP: #666666 1px solid; BORDER-RIGHT: #666666 1px solid
}
#photos DIV LABEL {
TEXT-ALIGN: center; WIDTH: 64px; WHITE-SPACE: nowrap; COLOR: #666666; FONT-SIZE: 10px; OVERFLOW: hidden
}
#reco-category {
FONT-SIZE: 77%
}
#reco-desc {
FONT-SIZE: 77%
}
.replbq {
MARGIN: 4px
}
#ygrp-actbar DIV A:first-child {
PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 2px
}
#ygrp-mlmsg {
FONT-FAMILY: Arial, helvetica,clean, sans-serif; FONT-SIZE: small
}
#ygrp-mlmsg TABLE {
}
#ygrp-mlmsg SELECT {
FONT: 99% Arial, Helvetica, clean, sans-serif
}
INPUT {
FONT: 99% Arial, Helvetica, clean, sans-serif
}
TEXTAREA {
FONT: 99% Arial, Helvetica, clean, sans-serif
}
#ygrp-mlmsg PRE {
FONT: 100% monospace
}
CODE {
FONT: 100% monospace
}
#ygrp-mlmsg * {
LINE-HEIGHT: 1.22em
}
#ygrp-mlmsg #logo {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 10px
}
#ygrp-mlmsg A {
COLOR: #1e66ae
}
#ygrp-msg P A {
FONT-FAMILY: Verdana
}
#ygrp-msg P#attach-count SPAN {
COLOR: #1e66ae; FONT-WEIGHT: 700
}
#ygrp-reco #reco-head {
COLOR: #ff7900; FONT-WEIGHT: 700
}
#ygrp-reco {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 20px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
#ygrp-sponsor #ov LI A {
FONT-SIZE: 130%; TEXT-DECORATION: none
}
#ygrp-sponsor #ov LI {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 6px; LIST-STYLE-TYPE: square; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 77%; PADDING-TOP: 6px
}
#ygrp-sponsor #ov UL {
PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 8px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px
}
#ygrp-text {
FONT-FAMILY: Georgia
}
#ygrp-text P {
MARGIN: 0px 0px 1em
}
#ygrp-text TT {
FONT-SIZE: 120%
}
#ygrp-vital UL LI:unknown {
BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none !important
}
</STYLE>
<!--~-|**|PrettyHtmlEnd|**|-~--><!-- end group email --></BODY></HTML>