The Ongoing Price of 9/11

This sums up some of the most important facts surrounding the wars and defense budgets since 9/11:

Anthony Gregory: The Priceless Price of the Post-9/11 Decade

The only thing missing here is the answer to the question: what do we do now?

The additional fact is that we can make ourselves more secure, and have the forces to combat the real 21st century threats to this country, while savings hundreds of billions a year. Well respected and thoughtful individuals and groups have studied the issue and offer some suggestions for how to proceed:

http://www.cdi.org/program/index.cfm?programid=37

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/ezra-klein/2010/10/barney_frank_ron_paul_and_55_o.html

What stands in the way is a military-industrial complex, a group of powerful and wealthy interests that are using their influence to get their way in Congress -- whether or not those decisions are indeed in the best interests of our armed services or our country.

Certainly, we need to eliminate the military trappings, systems, and weapons that were designed for the large-scale conventional and nuclear wars that were planned for during the Cold War of the last century, but which contribute nothing -- and in fact detract -- from our ability to fight the conflicts of the new century. This includes main battle tanks, pursuing numerous advanced stealthy bombers and fighters, nuclear submarines, and maintaining so many (11) carrier battle groups. It also includes our massive nuclear arsenals and network of hundreds of military bases around the globe -- in addition to our wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan -- are not only unnecessary and expensive, but actually make us less safe, contributing to resentment of American military presence. The increasingly costly and unwise use of mercenary forces ("independent contractors") must be ended as well.

At the same time, we need to renew focus on defending us from the real threat posed by militant violent Islamacism. In combating this threat on the modern "battlefield," we must have the special forces, asymmetrical (non-traditional conventional) forces, and intelligence forces sufficient to do so. However, we must also better acknowledge that non-military means are at least as effective in opposing, diffusing, and reducing this threat.

In addition, not only must better provision be made to ensure that those on the battlefield have the equipment they need -- it is unacceptable to ever send soldiers and Marines into combat without proper body armor or armoured vehicles -- but our veterans must be honored with the medical (included mental health care) they need, as well as more adequate assistance with paying for education and obtaining employment in the civilian sector.

In a broader sense, a government and society which such a massive focus on militarism and war-fighting (we do, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not, at the very least because we spend as much on the military as the rest of the world combined), is not conducive or compatible with either democracy or fulfillment of the American Dream. Our current levels of military spending are not sustainable. We need to not only face this reality, but do something about it, before it is too late.