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10 August 2007 |
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http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90780/91343/6236730.html |
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The United States House of Representatives passed on August 5 the regular defense budget for fiscal year 2008, which starts from October 1 this year, with the total number hitting 459.6 billion U.S. dollars, nearly 40 billion dollars more than the current year. Although the budget needs to be finalized in late September after Senate voting and consultation between the two houses, such a stunning rise in military expenditure, and also its transparency, deserve deep attention and thought. Indeed, the U.S. military spending has displayed a trend of ceaseless rise in successive years. Statistics showed a global military expenditure of 1,118 billion dollars in 2005, of which the U.S. alone took up 48 percent. In fiscal year 2007, the U.S. military spending created a record of 532.8 billion dollars, and a 17 percent higher request has been lodged for the next year, registering a year of highest increase since Reagan era. In fact, Bush administration's original budget request for next year totaled 623 billion dollars, including 481.4 billion dollars in regular defense budget. Of course, the figure adopted by the House was 21.8 billion dollars less than requested, but considering a supplemental war fund of 93.4 billion dollars for this year, the total fund request for next year would stand at an unprecedented level of 716.4 billion dollars. Meanwhile, the House-approved figure for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and for broader anti-terrorism efforts is 141.7 billion dollars, rejecting Bush's demand for supplemental funding. According to congressional Democrats, the Congress, after resuming in September, will seek for means of war funds. It is believed that the rift between the Bush administration and Democrats-dominated Congress over war spending will continue to enlarge. The reason is perhaps that Washington, following the launching of wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, has splashed more than 500 billion dollars in the past five years on anti-terrorism efforts, which would approach 660 billion dollars by the end of the next fiscal year. The Democratic Party, taking over the Congress at the year beginning, has been wrestling with the White House on issues including the withdrawal from Iraq, and would surely not miss the opportunity on the scale of anti-terrorism funds. The House also slashed 4 percent of Bush's missile defense fund request, striking another blow to the White House. Although bargains around military expenditure will continue, what's more noteworthy is how this huge amount of money would be spent. Over the years, Washington has taken pleasure in attacking other countries' defense budget increase and transparency, but itself remained unrivalled in both the total amount and increase rate of war spending. Given above-mentioned facts, the real annual spending of the U.S. would be at trillion-dollar scale, more than ten times over Britain, who ranks world second. In terms of transparency alone, there are a huge number of "gray budgets" hidden in the U.S. gigantic sum of war fund. The regular defense budget this year included 30.1 billion dollars for invisible items, taking up 6.5 percent. American sources revealed that expenditure on weapon research and purchase in fiscal year 2008 would be 140 billion dollars, designed for quite a number of sophisticated weapons including F-22 stealth fighter, F-35 joint strike fighter, DDG-class destroyer, Virginia-class attack submarine and space weapons. As much as 20 percent of this part of fund is reportedly unaccounted. It can be predicted that, so long as the issues of Iraqi and Afghan wars and anti-terror combat remain, the U.S. military expenditure would continue to soar, and Bush might distinguish himself as the most "money-consuming" president ever known to the American history. The author Shen Dingli is vice president of the Institute of International Studies, Fudan University; translated by People's Daily Online. |
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