UNITED STATES: Pentagon spending to equal rest of world

Issue 

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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