US Defense Cuts

U.S. Defense Spending vs. Global Defense Spending

April 24, 2013

In 2012, the most recent year for which complete data is available, the U.S. approved $645.7 billion in defense budget authority (fiscal year 2013 dollars). This figure includes funding for the Pentagon base budget, Department of Energy-administered nuclear weapons activities, and the war in Afghanistan.

This number is six times more than China, 11 times more than Russia, 27 times more than Iran and 33 times more than Israel. Though China is often cited as the country’s next great military adversary, U.S. military spending currently doubles that of all of the countries in Asia combined. In 2012, the U.S. consumed 41 percent of total global military spending. The U.S. also remained in the top 10 highest spending countries as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), one widespread measure of military spending, trailing behind countries such as Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and Israel, all of which have a significantly lower total military expenditure as well as a lower total GDP.^I

2012 Defense Expenditure^II
(budget authority in billions of current U.S. dollars)

Country or Region	2012 Spending
United States (including war and nuclear)	645.7
Asia	314.9
Europe	280.1
Middle East and North Africa	166.4
Russia and Eurasia	69.3
Latin America and The Caribbean	68.8
Sub-Saharan Africa	19.2
Canada	18.4
Global Total	1,582.8

Top Five Defense Budgets
(budget authority in billions of current U.S. dollars)

U.S. vs. Global Spending
(budget authority in billions of current U.S. dollars)

Countries of Interest
(budget authority in billions of current U.S. dollars)

Country	2012 Spending	Percent of GDP
United States (including war and nuclear)	645.7	4.12
Canada	18.4	1.04
China	102.4	1.24
Russia	59.9	3.06
United Kingdom	64.1	2.63
France	48.1	1.86
Germany	40.4	1.20
Japan	59.4	0.99
India	38.5	1.98
Italy	23.6	1.19
Brazil	35.3	1.45
Australia	25.1	1.63
Saudi Arabia	52.5	7.99
South Korea	29.0	2.52
Israel	19.4	7.85
Taiwan	10.3	2.21
Iran	23.9	4.95
North Korea	**	**
Pakistan	5.9	2.55
Venezuela	6.1	1.80
Iraq	14.7	11.28
Afghanistan	2.1	10.54
Oman	6.7	8.42
Jordan	1.8	5.6

^IU.S. figure includes funding for the Pentagon base budget, Department of Energy-administered nuclear weapons activities, and the war in Afghanistan. Data from Congressional Research Service, Office of Management and Budget, and International Institute for Strategic Studies.
^IIUnfortunately, there is no such thing as an agreed-upon international definition for “defense expenditure.” Many countries count spending differently and, in some cases, transparency is an issue.
The analysis above uses data from The Military Balance 2013, the authoritative reference almanac produced annually by the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Defense spending estimates for China and Russia, both of which regularly underreport their annual military budgets, have been reported using a methodology known as Purchasing Power Parity (PPP). The Military Balance typically uses market exchange rates to convert countries’ defense spending figures into U.S. dollars. In the case of China and Russia, however, the market exchange rates fail to fully reflect the purchasing power of the yuan and the ruble, respectively. To compensate for this, The Military Balance 2013 uses PPP. This allows for a more balanced calculation of the numbers. All of the figures for China and Russia in the analysis above use PPP figures, which are significantly higher than both officially reported and market exchange rate figures.
The bottom line is that this analysis uses the highest possible defense spending estimates for China and Russia.
^**The U.S. State Department estimates North Korean military spending at as much as a quarter of Gross National Product (GNP), with up to 20% of men ages 17-54 in the regular armed forces. Any publicly available estimates on DPRK defense spending are unreliable.

John McCain's Double Talk Express Derailed Again

John McCain is a lot of things. He's a crappy pilot, a doddering old senile fool, a misogynist, and ill tempered nut case and a lying sack of shit. McCain along with other Republican thugs are trying to hold up Chuck Hagel's nomination for secretary of defense with their politcally motivated fishing expedition over Benghazi. This is not about politics with McCain as Chuck Hagel is also a Republican. This is also personal for McCain.

John McCain appeared on Meet the Press with David Gregory. David Gregory is a bit of a wimp in my opinion and a mere shadow of Tim Russert. He was tossing out the usual softballs to McCain and McCain in typical McCain style lost it. McCain could not even lie his way out of it. It's obvious that the Republicans are using Chuck Hagel's nomination as a way to continue their ugly witch hunt over the Benghazi attacks.

When will these pieces of trash Republicans gain at least some rudimentary sanity and honor? Only the stupidest of Americans can't see through this sleazy tactic. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. They continue to double down on the Benghazi smear strategy even after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton kick the crap out of them. When will these infantile Republicans learn?

Republicans continue with the same failed political strategies. Perhaps it is time for them to employ a different strategy. Here's my suggestion to these vile contemptible trifling Republicans. Tell the truth.

 http://www.politicus...conspiracy.html



When John McCain has lost even David Gregory, it might be time for him to reboot. The Arizona Senator seems unable to get over his 2008 bitterness, and is wallowing in self-pitying rage that he still expects the media to buy sans any proof. The press has been McCain’s “base” for so long that being assertively questioned by them and asked to provide specifics must have been shocking. McCain didn’t come prepared with details or facts, because for years he hasn’t needed either.

McCain peddled his conpsiracy as far as he could, even managing to continue long after he embarrassed himself by sqwaking about how he needed more information while skipping a briefing on Benghazi. Only John McCain seems to be unable to get over his dashed hopes of a conspiracy cover up when faced with facts. Even the Hillary Clinton Benghazi hearing schooling failed to awaken the Senator to reality.

Has a major political party ever used something like a terrorist attack on a US Embassy as a political football, and use it to gain political power? Such a thing used to be unthinkable.

1. On June 14, 2002, the terrorist group Al Qanoon, which was suspected to be an al Qaeda branch, sent a suicide bomber into the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12 people and injuring 51 others. Nearly a year later, four were convicted of plotting the bombing, which blew in windows and left body parts all over the sidewalks near the embassy. (Source)

2. On February 28, 2003, Gunmen on motorcycles attacked the U.S. consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing two police officers and wounding five other officers and a civilian in front of the consulate. (Source)

3. Late in the evening of May 12, 2003, gunmen entered Al Hamra Oasis Village in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a compound known to be inhabited by Americans and other Westerners. (Source)

4. On July 30, 2004, three suicide bombers targeting the Israeli and U.S. embassies in Taskkent, Uzbekistan managed to kill two and injure nine others. (Source)

5. On December 6, 2004, terrorists stormed the heavily guarded U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, occupying it and taking 18 hostages for a time. When the incident was over, they had killed nine people, including four security guards and five staff. (Source)

6. On March 2, 2006, just two days before President Bush was scheduled to visit Pakistan, a suicide bomber targeted the U.S. consulate in Karachi, killing four, including a US diplomat believed to be the target, and as many as 50 others. (Source)

7. On September 12, 2006, four armed gunmen stormed the U.S. embassy in Damascus, Syria. In the 20 minute attack, they threw grenades and fired automatic weapons at guards. In the end, one person was killed and 13 wounded. (Source)

8. On January 12, 2007, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at the US Embassy in Athens Greece. Thankfully, it was early morning, and the building was empty and no one was injured. (Source)

9. On July 9, 2008, men armed with a shotgun and pistols stormed the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. At the end of the five-minute battle, three Turkish policemen were killed. (Source)

10. In 2008, there were two attacks on the U.S. embassy in Sana'a, Yemen. The first was a mortar attack on March 18, that missed the embassy and hit a nearby girls’ school, injuring 13. (Source)

11. But the biggest attack came on September 17, 2008, when terrorists dressed as policemen attacked the embassy with RPGs, rifles and grenades. There was also a car bomb. In the end, 16 were killed and many more were injured. (Source)

Eleven confirmed attacks, and at no time did anyone on the Democratic side treat any of them as anything other than tragedies that took the lives of Americans or people from foreign countries who were protecting Americans.

http://pleasecutthec...enghazi-bs.html

Caught In Yet Another Series of Lies!