William D. Hartung is the director of the Arms and Security Program at the Center for International Policy.
The Pentagon budget, now up to nearly $800 billion, is a monument to waste and profligacy. If we want to tackle the major crises of our times, like climate change and global inequality, we can’t afford to keep showering the military with money.
Since the start of the Afghanistan War in 2001, Pentagon spending has totaled a staggering $14 trillion. And half of it has gone directly to the biggest beneficiaries of US empire: defense contractors.