Conquest, Blood and Money

In the world today, goverments are spending around one trillion dollars on the military expeditures. That is one and 12 zeros for those that can not comprehend the ammount of money being spent (1.000.000.000 $). Not to mention all the "black budgets" that are not accounted for. Almost half of world wide military expeditures is being spent by the United States, which is more than all the countries combined. the USA is also the largest in weapons export, largest in weapon corporations. About 80% of these weapons are sold to non-democratic countries around the world. Right after the USA come China, Russia and Europe.

US goverment is also exporting what Pentagon experts call security, and is currently training troops in around 70 countries worldwide. This is called IMET (International Military Education and Training Program). Soldiers in these US training programs come from warring countries including Indonesia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Congo, Columbia, Iraq, Afghanistan and many other countries inside what Thomas Barnett, author of “The Pentagon’s New Map” calls THE GAP. So these new security is a new buzz in world wide weapon busseniss, and has increased 80% since the fall of the Soviet Union.

In 2002 James Glaser stumbled across the VFW web page section for eligibility and, to his surprise, found 67 places on the globe where America has been at war in some way since after WW II. Antiwar.com and Lew Rockwell state that we have engaged the enemy 23 times since 1945, but the Congress of the United States put that number at 67.

Here is the list as written in the VFW site:

* Taiwan Straits
* Quemoy Matsu Island
* Congo
* Laos
* Vietnam
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Korea
* Cambodia
* Thailand (in direct support of Cambodia Operation)
* Operation Eagle Pull-Evacuation of Cambodia
* Operation Frequent Wind-Evacuation of Vietnam
* Mayaguez Operation
* Operation Urgent Fury-Grenada
* Lebanon
* Germany (West Berlin)
* Austria
* Korea
* Japan
* Italy
* Trieste
* Germany (except West Berlin)
* Austria
* Asiatic Pacific
* Korean Service Medal (Army, Navy, Air Force)
* Berlin
* Libyan Operation El Dorado Canyo
* Persian Gulf Operation Earnest Will
* Panama Operation Just Cause
* Somalia-United Shield-Operation Restore Hope
* Haiti-Operation Uphold Democracy
* Operation Southern Watch (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Gulf of Omen W. Of 62' E. Long, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan)
* El Salvador
* Bosnia-Operation Joint Endeavor
* Operation Joint Guard
* Operation Vigilant Sentinel
* Operation Northern Watch
* Operation Maritime Intercept
* Operation Joint Forge (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
* Operation Desert Thunder
* Operation Desert Fox
* Thailand Military Operation
* Cuban Military Operation
* Iranian, Yemen Indian Ocean Operation
* Lebanon, Libyan Expedition
* Panama - (pre and post invasion)
* Liberia (Operation Sharp Edge)
* Rwanda (Operation Distant Runner)
* Vietnam Service Medal
* Iraq Operation Desert Storm/Operation Desert Shield
* Combat Action Ribbon, Korean Service,
* Kosovo Campaign Medal (Allied Force),
* Joint Guardian, Allied Harbor Sustain Hope/Shining Hope
* Nobel Anvil, Kosovo Task Force Hawk
* Kosovo Task Force Saber
* Kosovo Task Force Falcon
* Kosovo Task force Hunter
* Kosovo Air Campaign
* Kosovo Defense Campaign.

Now for some facts:

- United States has over 700 military out posts outside the U.S.
- USAF had dropped 1.5 million tons of bombs on Laos and 150,000 tons of bombs on Viet Nam
- 10,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Afghanistan
- United States reports that it flew over 110,000 air sorties against Iraq, dropping to date over 100,000 tons of conventional bombs
- In 2004, it’s been estimated that the United States fired 2,500 tons of depleted uranium munitions on Iraq with the radio-active equivalent of thousands of Nagasaki bombs with a half-life of 4.5 BILLION years
- Researchers estimate that since 1945 at least 50 US and Russian nuclear weapons have been lost and remain at bottom of the sea
- Due to nuclear testing starting from 1945, 1,025 nuclear detonations, including five upper-atmosphere tests called ‘operation starfish,’ I believe have added to today’s global warming problem
- U.S. nuclear stockpile is estimated to consist of almost 20,000 nuclear warheads
- Russian nuclear stockpile is estimated at 19,500 nuclear warheads
- China at present has 2,350 nuclear warheads
- United States has, to my estimate, dropped over 100,000,000 (million) tons of bombs on foreign lands over the last 50 years, estimating that between 10 million to 16 million deaths were directly and indirectly related to United States’ hegemony sense after WWII.

What will it take for these weapons systems to be completely dismantled and for the world to come to its senses, a nuclear war if we survive, or a serious accident?
Who is responsible for this ever increasing mess, the corporate media, the military industrial complex?
Are the leaders of these countries or the world elitist who control them responsible?

Its like this:
either we stop this madness, or the madness will stop us!

source:
arsenal.of.hypocrisy

Not sure there is much we can do.. It's the rich and powerful who have controlled the world for a very long time, and I believe that they plan to continue to do so.

well, it's a very good point you are making and well documentated, but on the other side, there is nothing much we can do to stop it because the country in charge is the most powerful country in the woorld at the moment.

so i will do one thing, share the fear with ...

There is always Hope!

well there is one old saying:

The bigger they are, the Harder they fall!

sooner or later all empires collapse.

but it is a scary fact, that military and weapon corporations are ruling this planet, and the only thing you can do, is to "be aware" of it. it really doesnt help much, since it would be far better if "we didnt know" all these facts.

but hey,
there is one more thing to do:
open a fresh beer,
lay back
and relax.

It's funny how the biggest weapons dealers in the world are also the same people who are afraid of a man who lives in a cave. Never surprises me how ridiculous life is.

That is a lot of money. Need to keep producing these boogey men to keep people in fear and not question why.

but hey,
there is one more thing to do:
open a fresh beer,
lay back
and relax.

i like your spirit souljah and on the other side, i agree with you on the fact that it's pretty scary to know that the people ruling this world are the one rule the weapon and military. but again what can we do? i don't see much to do, as we are only peons for them and we have no importance as individuals.
the only thing is Wait and See. i am sure that at one point they will fall as you said and then we will see something different.
i believe that all these weapons will never be used and they are just there to threatens other countries (and when i say these weapons, i am talking about the big ones). on the other side, maybe a weirdos should try to use it so the public will see how bad it is and then we can organize a mini revolution!!

talk to you later
KJ1