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February 23, 2008 | An article we wanted to point out a few weeks ago was misplaced. The article was published by Asia Times Online on January 24, 2008 and written by Chalmers Johnson, author and professor emeritus of the University of California, San Diego. The article is without question a plug for his most recent book, yet the information within the article is valuable if you have any interest in the future of America.
Johnson contends that, "Even a cursory reading of newspaper articles about the Department of Defense will turn up major differences in statistics about its expenses. Some 30-40% of the defense budget is "black", meaning that these sections contain hidden expenditures for classified projects. There is no possible way to know what they include or whether their total amounts are accurate. There are many reasons for this budgetary sleight-of-hand - including a desire for secrecy on the part of the president, the secretary of defense and the military-industrial complex - but the chief one is that members of Congress, who profit enormously from defense jobs and pork-barrel projects in their districts, have a political interest in supporting the Department of Defense. " Going bankrupt: The US's greatest threat, By Chalmers Johnson, Asia Times Online.
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