Creating a Non-violent World
with Peace – not war

So another year, and once again we have failed

– failed to prioritize people and the planet

– failed to invest in children and caregiving

– failed to expand affordable health care

– failed to reduce poverty and inequality

– failed to strengthen the middle class

– failed to reduce climate change and stop pollution

Pentagon spending has totaled over $14 Trillion since the start of the war in Afghanistan, with 1/3 to 1/2 of this going to military contractors.

A large portion of military contracts have gone to just five major corporations: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman. In 2020, Lockheed Martin received $75 Billion – while the total combined budget for the State Department and the Agency for International Development was $44 Billion.

Unfortunately though, because the Pentagon has not done a competent or transparent accounting for these and other appropriations, we have no reliable assurance of how, or even where, the funds were actually spent.

Numerous companies took advantage of "wartime conditions" – which involves 'less-rigorous oversight' – and thus contractors were able to overcharge the government or even engage in outright fraud. In 2011, the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan estimated that waste, fraud and abuse had totaled between $30 to $60 Billion. Therefore, Congress should require the Department of Defense Inspector General to conduct a Comprehensive Audit of the actual amounts of all federal funding spent on wars, and should make the report publicly available.

Recently the U.S. pulled out its military forces from Iraq and Afghanistan, so one would think that this allowed the military-complex to be reduced. But oh no. New urgent threats suddenly emerged, and as the US-led NATO began expanding into Ukraine, Russia responded by invading Ukraine – which is of course tragic for Ukraine and costing over 100,000 dead or severely injured – yet being increasingly profitable for the US weapons industry, now and into the future; (though exceedingly expensive to American taxpayers). And thus, the wars continue (rather than resolve these conflicts diplomatically), and so too does the military budget and military contracts keep increasing.

In the State Dept. and in Congress, the defense advisors and lobbyists keep the alarms and urgencies on high pitch, with their exaggerated estimates of new “military challenges” posed by China and Russia ("expanding into eastern Europe") – which have become the 'new rationale' for keeping the Pentagon Budget at increasingly high levels – conveniently allowing Military Contractors to continue heaping huge profits from their exaggerated "threats to democracy" or "threats to America", while the war in Ukraine (as well as its post-war reconstruction costs) will be Very Profitable for weapons industries and other military contractors.

Weapons-makers and other military contractors have spent $2.5 Billion on lobbying over the past two decades, employing on average over 700 lobbyists per year over the past five years – which is more than one weapons-lobbyist for every single member of Congress!

Weapons makers have spent $2.5 Billion on lobbying over the past two decades, employing, on average, over 700 lobbyists per year over the past five years. That is more than one weapons-lobbyist for every single member of Congress!

~ Watson Institute, Brown University