Mike Luckovich's cartoon at Truthdig, commenting on Mr. Obama's recent announcement that he's slimming down the military, is spectacular.
And here are Medea Benjamin and Charles Davis at Common Dreams:
The U.S. could cut its military spending in half tomorrow and still spend more than three times as much as its next nearest rival, China. That's because China, instead of waging wars of choice around the world, prefers projecting its might by investing in its own country. On the other hand, the U.S. under the leadership of Obama is beefing up its military presence in China's backyard, more interested in projecting its dwindling power than rebuilding its economy. . . .
The truth is that the Obama administration's "new" strategy is more of the same -- a reaffirmation of the U.S. government's commitment to militarism for the all the usual reasons: to promote American hegemony and, by extension, the interests of politically connected capital. And U.S. officials aren't shy about that.
As Benjamin and Davis rightly note, Mr. Obama's "slimming" down of military expenditures represents a move to a leaner, more efficient imperial strategy--not a repudiation of the imperialism that has helped to gut the American economy and rotted our souls. As I wrote midweek, I have to remain concerned about these matters because they implicate me. It's my money that pays for the production of weapons that target innocent civilians in other sectors of the globe.
And if I believe in God (and I do), I will be held accountable for this at the end of my life.
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