Washington wants you to believe we’re being outpaced in budget and weapons. That’s not true.
by William Hartung, Responsible Statecraft
Discussions of Pentagon spending in Washington routinely ignore the fact that at $886 billion for next year, the military budget is already at one of the highest levels since World War II. With better management and a more realistic strategy, that sum would be far more than is needed to provide an effective defense of the United States and its allies.
Unfortunately, the Pentagon, the arms industry, and their allies in Congress have failed to make a careful assessment of America’s defense needs. Instead, they’re pushing an ill-considered plan to supersize the weapons production base at the expense of other urgent national needs.

The main argument used by Pentagon budget boosters is that the United States is in danger of falling behind China in developing and deploying next-generation systems, like unpiloted vehicles controlled by artificial intelligence. This approach would also include taxpayer subsidies for the building of new weapons factories, which could lead to a permanent expansion of the arms sector. Doing all of this could push the Pentagon budget well over $1 trillion in the next few years, a huge and unnecessary spending binge that would further militarize our economy at the expense of investments in addressing major challenges like climate change and outbreaks of disease.
Recent Posts
Talk World Radio: Sam Rosenthal On The Occupation Of DC And What’s The Matter With Democrats
September 16, 2025
Take Action Now War, peace, and politics with RootsAction’s Political Director Sam RosenthalBy David Swanson and Sam Rosenthal, Talk World Radio…
Jews And Israel Are Not The Same. Equating Them Is A Propaganda Technique
September 16, 2025
Take Action Now The claim is central to rationales for arming Israel even as leading human rights groups decry genocide in GazaBy Norman Solomon,…
House Bill Would Let Marco Rubio Strip Passports Over Political Speech
September 15, 2025
Take Action Now Provision would let the Secretary of State deny or revoke passports over alleged “material support” as critics warn of thought…
Targeting Venezuela, Trump Escalates U.S. Campaign Of Aggression In Latin America
September 15, 2025
Take Action Now The US and Latin American right have long mobilized to remove challenges to their traditional privileges and control.By Jonathan…