Dupes and Traitors: Slashing Pennies From the War Budget

On today's episode of The Situation Room, CNN's Wolf Blitzer introduced a story about the Pentagon's budget potentially being slashed by $500 billion over the next decade. Apparently this worries some of our warmongering traitor political and military leaders. For perspective, keep in mind that our nation's 2010 military budget was nearly $700 billion!

Another jaw-dropper from the Center for Defense Information's Winslow Wheeler: "Various media reports cite a per-unit cost from $4 million to $5 million. They are quite incorrect," Wheeler wrote. Using the example of the MQ-9 Reaper drone, which entered service in 2007, he estimated the true cost of the aircraft at a stunning $120.8 million dollars. Part of the reason for the gap, according to Wheeler, is that other estimates ignore the support costs required to keep drones flying.

Lockheed Martin Corp bigwig Robert Stevens made a point of telling media about cutbacks the company has already made. Stevens told the Wall Street Journal:  "the additional cuts would be a "blunt force trauma" to the industry." What did you expect the Pentagon's most lucrative client to say?

Better question: Why is this made into a crybaby story about "tens of thousands and perhaps hundreds of thousands of pink slips," as Republican Mike Rogers said on Blitzer's panel, being handed out to defense contractors and weapons builders? Every other sector of our economy has been hatcheted into splinters, and the Pentagon, other military, et al has been largely immune. On an individual basis, it's a shame that anyone loses a job.

But it's difficult to muster sympathy. This is made into a simple economic downer, instead of what it is--a plea to keep us at war in perpetuity. Just as some doctors and pharmaceutical companies would never want true cures for HIV, cancers, etc., you know Stevens and his ilk profit from death too much to want an end to America's war machine. Therefore, any crocodile tears about the business Lockheed may lose are lost on anyone who doesn't fall for the lie.

All is not lost for the contractors. Congress may overturn the budget cuts, even in an election year. Even if our military is already spread paper thin and is eyeballing Syria and Iran. Even though our constant fighting and globetrotting has ground the American populace into powder. We are already sliding toward Armageddon. So the war profiteers need not worry. They're going to get their blood money sooner, not later.