Republicans and Democrats alike voted to give the U.S. military $768.1 billion in funds, adding to an already over-bloated military budget.
While there were exceptions to the rule, 19 Republicans and 51 Democrats voted against it, it's virtually a tradition for both parties to beef up the military, and generally for the wrong reasons. For decades, government officials used the well-worn slogan of spreading freedom and democracy worldwide to justify the over-bloated budget. It's true that the military was used to defeat Nazism and fascism during World War II. But other than that, it's usually gone way beyond self-defense.
For almost 75 years, there have been defeats, stalemates and false victories in the process of utilizing the military. President Dwight Eisenhower's warning in 1961 of the dangers of the military-industrial complex have not been heeded. Quite the contrary, Congress continues to pile on the money for reckless, imperial debacles. In an article published in Counterpunch, David Rosen wrote that after Eisenhower's warning, "both Democratic and Republican regimes," under the military-industrial complex, "squandered trillions of dollars and and lives of thousands of U.S. military personnel–to say nothing of the lives of untold number of innocent civilians in war zones..." "[T]he U.S. has engaged in in innumerable wars, skirmishes, stalemates or clandestine military engagements throughout the world." The U.S. transformed "from a global hero defending 'democracy' and 'freedom' to a superpower enforcing the imperialist demands of a corporatist state."
Rosen also wrote that "Total Cold War (1948-1991) military spending (in 1996 dollars) is estimated to have been $13.1 trillion. This is an enormous drain on U.S. resources, monies that could be better spent on other aspects of social life such as education, infrastructure and healthcare."
Funding for this military madness goes into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Both Democrats and Republicans agreed to the amount of funding behind closed-door sessions. For them, it was a triumph that both parties can work together, despite disagreements on other issues. When it comes to foreign policy, both parties are in general agreement on the use of the military to achieve an ideological goal: expand the rule of capital and thus the continuation of the current world order. Only the Democrats are a little more hesitant in wanting to use force while the Republicans are rigidly gung-ho to push for invasion, occupation and bombing. And the NDAA is a vehicle for use to try and expand the U.S.'s ideological goal to maintain the world order and expand it further. It's not farfetched to say that the United States, as an empire, wants to dominate the world.
Despite putting watered-down reforms into the NDAA, nothing has really changed. Left/Progressives were keen on pointing out that it still amounts to business as usual. John Nichols' article in the Nation contained quotes from Left/Progressives on the $768.1 billion agreed to by both parties.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said that "I couldn't support a bill that spends far more on the Pentagon than the Pentagon asked for and fails to end U.S. complicity in the bombing of Yemeni civilians. Is this really the best we can do while having the presidency and both Houses?"
Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA), who has strongly opposed U.S. imperial wars for years, said, "In no way could I support yet another year of wasteful, unaudited, irresponsible defense spending. Don't tell me we can't afford to invest in our communities when we just approved $778b for the Pentagon. Shameful to say the least."
Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) said, "It is astounding how quickly Congress moves weapons but we can't ensure housing, care, and justice for our veterans, nor invest in robust job programs for districts like mine."
And Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said that many politicians complain that there's not enough money to fund the expanding of Medicare, paid family and medical leave, and confronting climate change. "All this for an agency, the Department of Defense, that continues to have massive fraud and cost overruns year after year and is the only major government agency not to successfully complete an independent audit."
The political naysayers, in the pockets of "defense" contractors, will always come up with the same excuse about funding social programs, public schools, housing, Medicare for All, the postal service, climate change, etc. "There's not enough money." But that's $768.1 billion dollars worth of bullshit. The U.S. Congress has its priorities ass-backwards. Changing the priorities is long overdue.