The Worst Form Of Corporate Welfare

And perhaps the largest.  Eisenhower was right. So was Smedley Butler.  War is a racket, and the military-industrial complex Ike warned about has grown beyond our control.  It doesn't have to be this way.  As Atrios has pointed out many times, we could have an industrial policy that focuses on building things Americans need: there is plenty of gravy out there for contractors that don't involve blowing things up.  Water and sewer projects, the energy grid, the data/telecom network, high speed rail, rapid transit systems, schools, renewale energy, toxic cleanups, flood prevention.  Burying utilities.  But the only thing our policymakers seem to have endless piles of cash for are weapons and spying.  We pretend we don't have an industrial policy in America but we do, and sadly that policy is to build cool toys that blow shit up.

Syrian Rebels Just Started Receiving U.S. Weapons Shipments

Long before the situation in Syria escalated into a United States bomb threat and Vladimir Putin touting his commitment to peace in the New York Times , the U.S. was focused mainly on whether it shoul…

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/09/syrian-rebels-just-started-receiving-us-arms.html