[BC Mary]

<strong>Written By:</strong> BC Mary
<strong>Date:</strong> 2006-02-09 14:47:00
<a href="/article/84746258-usa-spells-out-strategy-for-global-military-aggression">Article Link</a>

With the increase, combined with tens of billions of dollars more for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as funds separately allotted to the Energy Department to maintain America’s nuclear arsenal, US military spending will climb well above the half-trillion-dollar mark in the coming year. This is more than the amount spent by all other countries combined, accounting for more than half of the estimated $1 trillion in worldwide arms expenditures.

The bloated Pentagon budget includes $5.1 billion—a 20 percent increase—for special operations, i.e., to expand elite killing squads, such as the Army’s Special Forces and the Navy Seals, which are trained for use in far-flung counterinsurgency interventions, including the deployment of assassination squads to kill insurgent leaders. The plan envisions adding 14,000 more troops to these units by 2011, bringing the ranks of such forces up to 64,000.

Another $6.1 billion is to be allotted to the Army to transform its forces into a more mobile brigade-based force, better suited for rapid deployment in counterinsurgency warfare.

Notwithstanding Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s advocacy of “military transformation”—a supposed shift from the Cold War military colossus to a more agile and leaner force—the Pentagon budget is laden with $84.2 billion in weapons procurement. The bulk of this is in multi-billion-dollar arms programs initiated during the Cold War which critics both within and outside the US military now view as largely superfluous.

By far the largest of these projects is the “Star Wars” missile defense program, which is allotted $10.4 billion—a 20 percent increase over last year. The program has failed in repeated tests and there is widespread skepticism that it can ever be effectively deployed.

<a href="http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/pent-f09.shtml">http://www.wsws.org/articles/2006/feb2006/pent-f09.shtml</a>

[Jacob]

How can Canada be forced to get "an appetite for war"?

Will we allow ourselves to be force-fed?

[somebigguy]

Actually the Project for a New American Century spelled out the U.S strategy for global military agression. Check it out here:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf">http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf</a><br />
<br />
This article was released in 2000, one year before 9/11, and includes the following statement:<br />
<br />
"the process of transformation, even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event - like a new Pearl Harbor."<br />
<br />
Well, on September 11th, it appears their prayers were answered. Time to take the blinders off and see what our friends to the south are really up to and accept the fact that the Americans wouldn't think twice about marching up here at the drop of a hat to steal our oil and natural resource to protect their precious "way of life".<br />
<br />
Lets stop humouring them, and pretending we believe that their trillion dollar defense system could have been outwitted by a handful of flightschool flunkies. Spread the word, Canada will have to fight these people off one day, the sooner we wake up the better.<br />
<br />
Here's a couple of vids to spread around:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3498980438587461603&q=eyewitness">http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3498980438587461603&q=eyewitness</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5137581991288263801&q=loose+change">http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5137581991288263801&q=loose+change</a>

[sailor2surfer]

"Canada will have to fight these people off one day,..."
Are you serious??? I hope I am correct in assuming you mean this as a metaphore because if you litterally mean "fight", as in militarily then we're all in big trouble. Our options will be to peacefully allow ourselves to be annexed or pray for global intervention and become the prize in a global conflict (aka - world war). I hope you can see how utterly ludicrous both options are.
Having said that, isin't it true that we have been fighting them off for generations now? I mean this war you allude to is clearly one of an ecomomic and political nature. One that we have been, and will continue to fight for as long as we live in the shadow of our neighbour to the south. What is really needed is less dependance on the US economy (85% of Canadian exports go there) and maybe even a dose of humility. We need to stop covetting the American way of life and realize that we are small. We can be successful and happy as Canadians in Canada without trying to pretend we're one of the big boys. We should look to places like Sweden as more of a role model than the US and for that matter, look within ourselves. Globalization exposes us to outside influnces and geography exposes us to America, but that doesn't neccesarily mean we should constantly strive toward ever expanding wealth and global influence. What's wrong with building Igloos, skiing, and being peacefull anyway?
Of course I realize this might sound somewhat naive, but I am speaking metaphorically here. The point is that even though we may fear things like America's plans for global military aggresion (more appropriately "dominance") it doesn't have to be so that we're either with them or against them. We have the right and the duty to simply be Canadians.