The Rev. Robert Moore, Princeton
On June 18, Rep. Barney Frank spoke to a full house of 225 at the Coalition for Peace Action’s 30th anniversary Membership Dinner in Princeton. With Rep. Ron Paul, Rep. Frank co-chaired the bipartisan Sustainable Defense Task Force that included experts such as Dr. Lawrence Korb, former Assistant Secretary of Defense.
Rep. Frank asserted that U.S. military spending was continuing as if we still faced an existential threat, as from Nazi Germany or the former Soviet Union. Those threats were over by 1989, when the Cold War ended. Yet U.S. military spending has continued at unsustainably high levels, adding up to about $700 billion last year.
Rep. Frank’s task force recommended cuts of $1 trillion in military spending over the next 10 years. That comes to about $100 billion per year. Rep. Frank explained that only included cuts from the core military budget. In addition, about $150 billion per year could be saved by ending U.S. deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, making total annual military savings $250 billion.
If we make these sensible cuts, we would still have a military budget of $450 billion per year, more than the next 10 highest nations combined. That would be a more than adequate defense. The $250 billion saved could create jobs and address the continuing economic crisis in the U.S.
Every soldier deployed in Afghanistan costs $1.2 million per year. For every soldier we bring home, 24 jobs at $50,000 each could be created here in the U.S. If we bring home all 100,000 from Afghanistan, that would create almost 2.5 million new jobs!
It’s time the U.S. stopped trying to be the world’s policeman, and stopped getting into one endless war after another. This is a key to getting our economy back on track. Draconian cuts in basic human services will only make things worse. We need to move toward Smart Security, rather than tolerating ever-increasing budgets for military adventurism.
Those wanting further information, and/or to get involved can contact the Coalition for Peace Action at www.peacecoalition.org or (609) 924-5022.
The Rev. Robert Moore
Princeton
