Shark Week Continues
Do you remember what you were doing on 9/10/01? I don't either. However, I can tell you that Donald Rumsfeld, the Secretary of Defense, went on tv and criticized the Pentagon for losing 2.3 Trillion dollars. That's right; our military spending branch could not find or account for $2.3 Trillion. To put that number in perspective, You could pay 41.4 million teachers $55,300/year for 20 years. Here is an 11-minute video of that speech depicting ways we could have prevented that loss.
I urge you to watch and listen to this video as it has a lot of information in it. In "folksy" terms, Rumsfeld states how he could save wasted taxpayer money for the waitress in San Fransico if he could get rid of the levels of bureaucracy.
This is Taxing
He says that he is asking Congress to allow him to bring in outside expertise to enhance the way the Pentagon spends its allotted tax dollars. Rumsfeld says that the private sector knows more about staying relevant in business than a bureaucratic body.
Donald discusses consolidating and updating systems to have a more agile military ready to fight any enemy that may come up against the U.S. But, he never talks about the savings this will generate for the American taxpayer. Or tanks the military will never use. And Rumsfeld doesn't mention how this new approach will reduce the waitress' yearly tax bill.
A Better World for Who?
So, if saving money for taxpayers isn't on the agenda, what is? According to Chicago-born Wesley K. Clark, it was to establish a new American foreign policy.
The Project for the New American Century (PNAC) was a non-profit think tank created in 1997. Funding came from a conservative activist group that wanted to update and change America's stance on activity and engagement in the Middle East.
Of the twenty-five people who signed PNAC's founding statement of principles, ten served in the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, including Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz, and our friend Donald Rumsfeld. Let's look at what this document stated in 1997 and led to Rumsfeld's speech just four years later.
The organization stated that "American leadership is good both for America and the world" and sought to build support for "a Reaganite policy of military strength and moral clarity." A section of the project document called Rebuilding America's Defenses is entitled "Creating Tomorrow's Dominant Force." Here is a sentence that has caught the attention of many readers: "Further, the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a new Pearl Harbor."
Everything is Coming up Rosie
You can take this sentence for what it is, but in the bigger picture, it identifies how America became a dominant global leader in WWII.
An American President also made a plea to the American people to beware, the military-industrial complex. You can view it here. In his last address to the American people in 1961, Eisenhower says that in the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
What influences is Dwight talking about? Is there proof of a disastrous rise of misplaced power? Here are some interesting stories I can share.
Do you know what a JLENS is? It is the acronym for Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System or Spy Balloon. The project to create this "ballon" complements fixed-wing surveillance aircraft that would save money on a crew, fuel, maintenance, and other costs. It would also give military commanders early warning to make decisions and provide notifications. Above all else, it was to save money and time.
Let's Grab what We Can
However, the joint venture between Hughes Aircraft and Raytheon ended in 2017 when a JLENS got loose and free of its tether at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. It drifted on a 100-mile uncontrolled descent across Pennsylvania, dragging its cable tether damaging power lines and cutting power to 20,000 homes. At this point, you may be asking how this proves a disaster or misplaced power. Well, the program was approved by the secretary of defense in 1998 for a total of $292 million. Meanwhile, the program's development took over two decades and is estimated to have cost $2.7 billion. The JLENS never became operational, and that taxpayer money went to Hughes Aircraft and Raytheon. The project was 825% of the estimated budget, and it ran over 20 years without objection. There are many other similar examples of misplaced power, but I prefer to give you one more example.
It's Just Money
My second example is pulling data from when Don Rumsfeld spoke to the public on 9/10/01. Mr. Rumsfeld was in charge of an overall military budget of $331 billion at the start of 2001. After the attacks on 9/11/01, Defense spending went up by a factor of 15% a year. In reflection, 15% doesn't sound like that much money, so I'll put this idea into the total cost perspective. In total (2001 - 2021), Congress agreed to take our tax dollars and spend $2 trillion to 5 companies to support the war in Afghanistan. Remember that number. It is still less than the dollar amount Rumsfeld said the Pentagon lost in 2001.
Furthermore, the five companies always at the receiving table are Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Boeing, and Northrup Grumman. These companies account for a fifth of all federal contract dollars and about a third of all Department of Defense (DOD) contract dollars annually. Based on the 2021 Defense budget of $753.5 billion, those five companies got $245.5 billion this year. That is an overwhelming amount of public money, no matter what it is designated to provide.
I share these examples with you to show you that anything is possible. When you hear a congressperson or state representative say that they don't have the budget, remember the $2.7 billion they spent on a ballon or the 2.3 billion that was lost.
By The Numbers
What do You Prefer
To clarify, no one political party is better at spending our money than the other. Both parties are under the direction of the military-industrial complex Eisenhower spoke about 60 years ago. He said the potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist unless this country stays vigilant and educated.
You can create the reality you want. You don't have to focus on the negative, but you can, however, choose to see the possibilities. Create that which you desire. Ask questions when you see something that doesn't make sense. We can remain aware and not get entangled with things we do not prefer. If you want to raise your consciousness, you must participate without judgment. That is what I prefer. By the way, Eisenhower would have wanted it that way...
