While public hospitals, education, and other public services are being cut, the U.S. government continues to pour money into the sinkhole that is the continued wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Americans paid 31 cents out of every tax dollar on the military, plus 13 cents on military debt and the VA, in their 2008 taxes if you exclude money for trust funds (Social Security, etc.). Does the Obama Administration promise any changes?
With the proposed budget for 2010 passing Congress recently, the base military budget was increased by 4% to $533 billion. Separate from the military budget, an additional $75 billion was allocated for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for the remainder of 2009 and $130 billion for 2010 (Wall Street Journal, 02/27/09).
Admitting that the U.S. presence in Iraq and Afghanistan is far from over, Obamas Defense secretary, Robert M. Gates (who served under Bush as well), said, For too long, there was a belief, or a hope, that Iraq and Afghanistan were exotic distractions that would be wrapped up relatively soon. (NY Times, 4/16/09) People have demanded an end to these wars and occupations, and votes for Democrats were often cast to this end.
A report delivered to the U.S. congress in October 2008 reported $830 billion has been thrown into the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To what end? Neither of these wars is in the interest of ordinary people in the U.S. or anywhere else.
The war in Afghanistan has been a complete failure and humanitarian conditions are worse than before the war. Organizations like the Taliban and Al Qaeda have gained popularity as the only organizations opposing the occupation.
The war in Iraq was never about weapons or terrorism – it is about oil, power, and prestige. While there has been a lull in violence over the past few months, recent bombings in Mosul have commentators wondering if violence could flare up once again.
President Barack Obama, while promising an end to the war in Iraq, recently approved a troop increase in Afghanistan of 21,000. Explaining that the Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan, and Al Qaeda supports the insurgency and threatens America from its safe haven along the Pakistani border, (CNN.com, 2/18/09) Obama is committing to continuing a war that will cost the lives of American soldiers and innocent Afghans at the expense of our public services.
Working people and youth have no interest in these wars. They are being waged for the profits of oil companies, security contractors, and the general domination of U.S. corporations worldwide.
The Democrats control both houses of Congress and the presidency, and yet they refuse to end the wars and occupations. Only concerted and united independent action by workers and youth can end the war. We need to demand the money that goes to killing be redirected to the needs of the living.
Money for jobs, housing, healthcare, and education not war!