UNITED STATES: Pentagon spending to equal rest of world

According to the corporate finance group PricewaterhouseCoopers, US military expenditure will equal that of the rest of the world within 12 months. In a report released by PwC's global aerospace and defence division on April 27 — The Defence Industry in the 21st Century — US military spending reached US$417.4 billion in 2003 — 47% of the total world military spending. The report notes that "the US defence budget has increased by 60% in constant US$ over the last ten years" and that for 2005-06 US President George Bush is seeking $419.3 billion for the Pentagon. This "taken together with the supplementary spending bill" for the Iraq war, providing for a further $82 billion, will bring US military spending to a massive $500 billion. The PWC report noted that top three US arms makers — Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman — accounted for $75 billion, or 50%, of the arms sales of the world's top 10 defence industry contractors.

From Green Left Weekly, May 11, 2005.

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From GLW issue 626