“President Biden’s expected request of $74 billion for Ukraine and Israel, plus additional money for Taiwan and the US southern border, is the latest consequence of a ravenous military-industrial complex and a counterproductive militarized foreign policy. 

$15 Trillion spent on wars and the Pentagon this century have numbed us to how truly gargantuan these sums are. Conversation about the opportunity costs of war and military spending is primarily non-existent (e.g., $74 billion is enough to end world hunger and permanently house all homeless people and families in the US and still have billions left over.)

Worse, this funding will not end these wars but will likely prolong them with the ever-increasing risk of the conflicts worsening and expanding. There is no military solution; only a dedicated and long overdue political solution to these wars will bring peace, stability and reconciliation to the people of Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Of course, such political solutions don’t support ever-increasing defense industry spending and the vitriolic rhetoric of politicians who see war as helpful to their campaigns.”