Illegal theft of billions
Pentagon takes what it wants
By Fred
Goldstein
Having broken every international law, every United Nations
Charter regulation and provisions of the United States
Constitution in its unspeakable 78-day bombing campaign against
the people of Yugoslavia, the Pentagon has just been exposed
for criminal financial manipulations to finance its own pet
projects in defiance of Congress.
However, the capitalist establishment has conspired to turn
what should have been a genuine major scandal, by working-class
or any progressive standards, into a virtual non-event.
In mid-July the House Appropriations Committee issued a
report revealing that "the Pentagon defied the law and the
Constitution by spending hundreds of millions [actually
billions--FG] of dollars on military projects that lawmakers
never approved, including a super-secret Air Force program,"
according to the July 22 New York Times.
"The committee's 313-page report says," the Times continued,
"the Air Force tried to buy an $800 million military
communications satellite without lawful authority, and
illegally diverted from an unspecified program hundreds of
millions of dollars to upgrade its C-5 transport plane. It also
says that the Pentagon spent millions of dollars on a `Star
Wars' missile defense program that was previously canceled by
Congress."
The report cited other instances involving illegally
financed military trucks, missiles and tanks. "Committee staff
members said these practices were a chronic and worsening
condition adding up to billions of dollars spent improperly and
illegally over the past decade, particularly in the last year
or so as military officials have tried to finance more and more
expensive programs."
The report was issued together with the military
appropriations bill for the coming fiscal year. Rep. Jerry
Lewis, the head of the military panel of the Appropriations
Committee, cited the constitutional wording on spending--"No
money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in Consequence of
Appropriations made by law"--to emphasize the illegality of the
Pentagon theft and money manipulation.
`Astonished,' `angered'--
and compliant
The committee was said to be "astonished" and "angered" at
the Pentagon. There was said to be an "erosion of trust"
between Congress and the military.
Pentagon spokesperson Kenneth H. Bacon admitted there were
some mistakes, saying, "We work very hard." But, he said, "Do
we get it right 100 percent of the time? Of course not." And
that was the end of the discussion.
No news conferences were called to show a grave
constitutional violation of civilian authority by the military.
No demands were made for a special prosecutor to investigate
the misappropriation of billions of dollars over a decade.
The television networks did not rush into action with news
reports or talking heads asking questions and demanding
answers. Who signed all the orders for these illegal
appropriations? Who was responsible for notifying Congress?
What military contractors entered into illegal contracts for
this secret spending?
Was any bribery involved? Any pumped-up cost overruns? What
is this illegal super-secret program?
How many social programs had to be put on the chopping block
to accommodate this illegal spending of billions of dollars
over the course of a decade? How many people are without
welfare, Medicaid or Medicare, housing, education, childcare?
How many drug treatment programs could this blood money have
bought? How many ailing parks could have been renewed?
There is enough to investigate from the point of view of the
workers and the oppressed.
`Shame, shame--
here's your money'
The Pentagon paused to blush with slight embarrassment for a
moment or two. And that was its punishment.
It was called a "misunderstanding." The generals promised to
work with Congress to clear things up.
If there was any loss of trust or anger and astonishment,
you could have missed it when the same Appropriations Committee
sent a $266 billion military budget to the House floor. That is
a $15.5 billion increase over last year's budget, including
$90.2 billion for research, development and purchasing new
weapons systems--all to be spent by the embezzling generals and
admirals.
The bill passed.
There was a heated debate over the F-22 fighter that the
Pentagon is pushing. In question was whether to begin the
purchase of the F-22--which would ultimately cost $70 billion
at almost $200 million per fighter plane--or to spend the money
on upgrading the fighter planes in service while building new,
less expensive planes.
Lockheed, which is scheduled to build the F-22, and the Air
Force lost the first House vote over the plane. The $1.8
billion the Air Force requested to purchase the first six F-22s
was allocated to buy more F-15s, F-16s and tanker aircraft.
But $1.2 billion in research and development money was
included for the F-22. And it is common knowledge in Washington
that any weapons system that gets R&D eventually gets
purchased.
The battle over the F-22 is far from over. Lockheed has
hired a lobbyist who is a former aide to the powerful House
Republican Whip Tom DeLay. Lockeed and the Air Force have
twisted Dennis Hastert's arm--he's the speaker of the House.
And President Bill Clinton has come down on the side of the Air
Force and the F-22, telling a news conference that "we can fund
the plane without compromising the basic priorities of our
defense system." (Washington Post, July 22)
Aircraft boondoggles
very much alive
So powerful is the pressure from the Pentagon that
Republican Jerry Lewis, who led the fight against the F-22 and
promoted the report exposing the Pentagon embezzlement,
insisted after the vote that "He is not out to kill the F-22
program."
Lewis just wants to "put off funding for initial production
until lawmakers have a chance to debate whether the United
States really needs the plane in addition to two other new jet
fighters in the budget--the Navy's F/A18-E/F and the Joint
Strike Fighter, which is being pursued by the Air Force, the
Navy and the Marine Corps," according to the July 22 Washington
Post.
Imperialism and the F-22
The F-22 is based on stealth technology. It is supposed to
have high cruising speeds and advanced targeting ability. The
Pentagon's determination to build the F-22 is important from
the viewpoint of fully understanding the dynamics of
imperialism--U.S. imperialism in particular. And it sheds light
on the Pentagon's defiance of Congress.
The struggle over the F-22 has a dual character. On the one
hand it is a giant battle between the surviving
military-industrial aircraft giants: Boeing, which is scheduled
to produce the Joint Strike Fighter, and Lockheed. Indeed,
Boeing has lined up many of its allies, including House
Minority Leader Dick Gephart. This demonstrates in a nutshell
that the monopolization process under capitalism, fostered by
the capitalist state, exists at the same time as the most
venomous competition among them.
But on another level, the debate has a strategic
significance as far as the military is concerned. The Air Force
regards the Joint Strike Fighter as desirable--but only as a
way to economize and standardize aircraft between the services.
The F-22, on the other hand, is regarded as the most advanced
and important new instrument to strengthen U.S. world
domination.
Air Force officials, according to the July 22 Washington
Post, say that "the F-22, conceived nearly two decades ago
during the Cold War, is still essential to replace the F-15 and
F-117 jet fighters and counter threats posed by advanced
surface-to-air missile systems and jet fighters being developed
by the Russians and Europeans."
Pentagon resurgence
It was anticipated that after the collapse of the USSR, U.S.
imperialist domination would no longer be so dependent on the
Pentagon and the specific weight of the military in society
would be reduced. Wall Street could rule by economic and
political domination--with a strong Pentagon backup, of
course--now that the socialist camp's challenge had receded.
But this weapon, the F-22--which was built to attack the
USSR--is not only still in the pipeline, it is eagerly
anticipated by the militarists.
The Pentagon has just given a massive demonstration to the
European and Japanese imperialists, as well as to the Russian
turncoat general staff, of its vast military technological
superiority. The F-22 is meant to intimidate and demoralize its
rivals, and dash any and all hopes they may have of challenging
the U.S. military.
The ruling class has created this military machine to defend
its profit interests everywhere on the globe. It has embarked
on a campaign of world domination that uses every dirty trick
known to humankind, as well as every means of mass murder and
destruction. Is it any wonder that it should be undeterred by
rules about reporting to Congress?
Should members of Congress be "astonished" by underhanded
and illegal tactics by the military-industrial bandits who
pillage the world on behalf of U.S. capitalism?
In any case, the Pentagon's dream of world domination
through military technology is a pure illusion. They were not
able to destroy the will of the Yugoslav people after 78 days
of bombing. They have not been able to destroy the will of the
Iraqi people after a decade of warfare. They have not been able
to destroy the Cuban people's determination.
In Latin America the people of Colombia are waging a
people's war. The people of Venezuela are defying the United
States in trying to create a popular government. The people of
Puerto Rico are waging a struggle against the U.S. Navy on the
island of Vieques.
The congressional exposure of Pentagon embezzlement and the
fight against the F-22 and its $70 billion price tag may partly
reflect the fear of some in the ruling class that the
Pentagon's and military-industrial complex's insatiable
appetite for weapons puts intolerable strains on the capitalist
government's resources.
This new strain, caused by the Pentagon's war drive, comes
at a time when the crisis of health care, housing, education,
child care, welfare and nutrition is becoming more intense, the
capitalist boom notwithstanding.
They rightly fear a social explosion at home, particularly
if there should be a downturn in the economy. In fact, as long
as capitalist exploitation continues and deepens, there is no
way to stop it.
This article is copyright under a Creative Commons License.
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