Ghosts of the Past:Global Military Spending At New Post-Cold War high, Fueled By U.S. And China

[rainman + 263]

Global military expenditure reached its highest level last year since the end of the Cold War, fueled by increased spending in the United States and China, the world’s two biggest economies, a leading defense think-tank said on Monday.In its annual report, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said overall global military spending in 2018 hit $1.82 trillion, up 2.6 percent on the previous year. That is the highest figure since 1988, when such data first became available as the Cold War began winding down. U.S. military spending rose 4.6 percent last year to reach $649 billion, leaving it still by far the world’s biggest spender. It accounted for 36 percent of total global military expenditure, nearly equal to the following eight biggest-spending countries combined, SIPRI said. China, the second biggest spender, saw military expenditure rise 5.0 percent to $250 billion last year, the 24th consecutive annual increase. “In 2018 the USA and China accounted for half of the world’s military spending,” Nan Tian, a researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure (AMEX) program, said.

[francoba + 93]

Military industrial complex....

[50 shades of black + 254]

As the always: boys love their toys, until it comes time to use them. Then they send someone else's boys.....

[pinto + 293]

No wonder the world is in this mess....

[ThunderBlade + 231]

Things are gonna be worse...

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-taiwan-china-military-idUKKCN1S5005

 

[Bobby P + 88]

Peace through strength? 

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

3 hours ago, rainman said:

Global military expenditure reached its highest level last year since the end of the Cold War, fueled by increased spending in the United States and China, the world’s two biggest economies, a leading defense think-tank said on Monday.In its annual report, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said overall global military spending in 2018 hit $1.82 trillion, up 2.6 percent on the previous year. That is the highest figure since 1988, when such data first became available as the Cold War began winding down. U.S. military spending rose 4.6 percent last year to reach $649 billion, leaving it still by far the world’s biggest spender. It accounted for 36 percent of total global military expenditure, nearly equal to the following eight biggest-spending countries combined, SIPRI said. China, the second biggest spender, saw military expenditure rise 5.0 percent to $250 billion last year, the 24th consecutive annual increase. “In 2018 the USA and China accounted for half of the world’s military spending,” Nan Tian, a researcher with the SIPRI Arms and Military Expenditure (AMEX) program, said.

What are global military expenditures adjusted for inflation or as a percentage of GDP?

[Tony Ryals + 4]

By the way,where's that most expensive kiilling tool of all ,the F-35 that U.S. and Japan lost a few weeks ago and just can't seem to find ? Maybe they forgot to install the 'black box'.........

 

little bo peep has lost her sheep and just can't seem to find them

leave them alone

they'll come home

dragging the pope behind them

[Ward Smith + 6,615]

Given all the $600 hammers the military likes to procure, a head to head comparison isn't telling us the whole story. I'm reasonably sure a Chinese supplier who gouges their govt with a $600 hammer will receive a bullet to the head, and his family will receive a bill for the bullet. It's just how they roll. So on a value basis, the Chinese could get at least 400% better bang for their buck (or renimbi) compared to the US military industrial complex and its rampant graft and corruption. Furthermore, they regularly steal completed military designs so they don't have to waste time and money doing the basic engineering themselves, also big money saving. So instead of saying the Chinese only spend X on their military, in dollar terms multiply by at least 4 to 10 to get a clearer picture. 

[ronwagn + 6,290]

8 hours ago, Bobby P said:

Peace through strength? 

I can't imagine anyone attacking any of the major nuclear powers because of the danger of retaliation. Mutually Assured Destruction. M.A.D.The problem is knowing who the attacker was or guessing who it was. Surreptitious attacks of various kinds are far more likely. Unfortunately, I think that our enemies are a lot more crafty at figuring out how to conduct devious forms of warfare. The Russians and Chinese are way ahead of us on political warfare IMHO. 

As Lincoln said, we cannot be defeated by a foreign power but can be from within (paraphrase). The truth of this can be seen in the news daily. 

We are also in danger of overspending ourselves to the point of becoming an economic basket case. An economically distressed country can descend into anarchy or go into a fascist (not racist) mode where the government takes over everything and the citizen is nothing but an insignificant pawn with no real rights. 

[ronwagn + 6,290]

8 hours ago, Bobby P said:

Peace through strength? 

Strength requires a strong economy also. 

[Tony Ryals + 4]

It was the closet Zionist Henry Kissinger who led his poodle Nixon to China to lick the hands of the Chinese but Kissinger was never a traitor because he was never a real American.So instead of industrial containment we have spread industriaism like a cancer around the world and it will  lead to petroleum  wars.The children of the greedy financiers behind Kissinger are the  losers in the end along with eveyone on the planet.It's one big last ponzi scheme.

I feel so sorry for Bush's grandchildren,

who'll have to learn to swim in the water he spit in,

 

General Eisenhower's military industrial complex, 

remains our Frankenstein our tyranasaurus rex,

Edited April 30, 2019 by Tony Ryals