US defence budget will equal ROW combined "within 12 months"

I think some weapons manufacturing companies are ripping off the US military maybe that's why the budget had to be so expensive. There are probably many equipment that are not worth their cost but the companies charge high anyway to make more $$$. Capitalism.
IIRC there has been some discussion that the Bradley IFV was too expensive for its capabilities. And then there's another one, the Stryker if I'm not wrong, that shared similar suspicions. And George Bush was somehow connected with the company that made the Bradley too though I don't recall how.

[edit on 7-5-2005 by Taishyou]

Originally posted by Lucretius
Are you suggesting the Isreali's are imperialistic?

sorry I'm didn't phrase that right, was trying to same that pound for pound (adjusted for size, resources and budget) The Israelis have the most effective and efficient military in the world given their effectiveness and threats they have faced. If they were to have had our complete resources and size at their disposal they would be a true sight to behold. If they set their mind to it (NOT SAY THAT THEY ARE OR WOULD necessarily) they could have the middle east and a good portion of the world under their thumb if they had our full resources. Adjusted for size/resources/budget we not even in the top 10 in the world, I would be surprise if we were in the top 20 the thing is that we’re the 500 pound gorilla going up against 60 pound spider monkeys. I don’t know if the analogy fits but you know what I’m trying to say I guess.

The reason the U.S. military budget is so expensive is because of a few reasons. For one, the second largest military in the world. Two, that military demands decent pay (not like a third-world military where you could pay the soldiers far less money). Three, the U.S. has the most sophisticated, high-tech military on the face of the Earth. But all that high tech gear comes at a price, and the money doesn't go as far as it used to.

Think about it. What other country has stealth planes, nuclear submarines, huge aircraft carriers, loads of Abrams tanks, lots of big refueling tankers, and thousands of fighter aircraft that employ amongst the most sophisticated avionics and missile systems. To MAINTAIN all that stuff is expensive, and to TRAIN the people to maintain them is expensive.

Then there's the research projects and so forth. All that comes at a heavy price, money-wise.

Most other militaries in the world, with the exception of a few, are far less advanced than the U.S. military and far less-trained. In the German military, you are allowed to have long hair, even. Most countries' militaries have very low standards, as they have degraded their militaries into very sorry states because of 1) cost, and 2) there isn't a huge threat to them at the moment, unless they're in the Middle East, and 3) they know the U.S. will come bail them out if necessary.

As for why needing such a powerful military, well, the best defense IS always a good offense. And there are various possible threats arising around the world that can be prevented from acting because of the very existence of another power that can hinder their efforts. You have North Korea working on nuclear bombs, Iran working on nukes, China making threats to Japan and even bossing around Australia some. There are Middle Eastern countries that wage war, etc....

Canada ranked 128th on the list, which makes me happy.
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Somewhere between 24 000 to 27 000 children starve to death every single day. Little kids, starving....to death....
25 000 or so every eff'ing day.... and nobody gives a #. wtf is wrong with people?
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And, btw, I have a hard time trusting stats published by the CIA. That's just me though.