The Pentagon’s Bill

Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, the Pentagon budget has nearly doubled to over $700 billion. Legislation passed for the new fiscal year beginning Oct. 1, 2012, however, represents a U.S. Senate departure from that pattern: For the first time, military outlays will be reduced by some $43 billion. Spread over the coming decade, the plan is to reduce government expenditures by a factor of 10. The Defense Department is expected to play its role in the cutbacks in order to reduce the nearly $15 trillion deficit. That’s the word from the White House.

That might sound good, but for the current fiscal year, it’s a mere pipe dream, not only because the United States will still account for 43 percent of global defense spending and will spend more on troops and weapons than all of NATO, Russia, China and dozens of other armaments-happy nations combined. According to the World Bank, Defense spending accounts for 24 percent of all U.S. outlays — proportionally double the amount spent in Germany or France. And upon closer inspection, the reduction claimed by the United States comes in the form of savings due to the American withdrawal from Iraq. On the other hand, the Pentagon’s basic budget — that is, the Defense budget exclusive of the cost of actual combat operations — will actually reach a record high.