Global Military Spending Soars in 2003

[CShine]

World military spending surged during 2003, reaching $956 billion, nearly half of it by the United States as it paid for missions in Iraq, Afghanistan and the war on terror, a prominent European think tank said Wednesday. The money has been effective in waging war, but threats of terror and weapons of mass destruction still exist, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Military spending rose by 11 percent, which the group called a "remarkable increase." The amount was up 18 percent from 2001.

<snip>

The United States led the world in defense spending, accounting for 47 percent of the total, followed by Japan with 5 percent and Britain, France and China, with 4 percent each. The figures were in line with estimates by Jane's Information Group, a spokesman from the company's London office told the AP.

The 2003 rise in defense spending coincided with a decrease in the number of conflicts worldwide, which fell to 19, the second-lowest since the think tank began issuing the reports 35 years ago. SIPRI also noted that 14 separate peace missions began last year, the most since the end of the Cold War.

The report had mixed reviews about efforts to contain weapons of mass destruction.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=518&ncid=716&e=7&u=/ap/20040609/ap_on_re_eu/arms_report

[Massacure]

1. Holy crap

Half of all the money spent on military in the world is spent by the U.S?

Thats sick.

[struggle4progress]

3. I bet if US military spending went down, so would ...

the spending of other countries. I bet we're driving a new arms race by scaring the @#$% out of everybody.

[crossroads]

4. That is sick! n/t

[TahitiNut]

7. It's USA v. The World ... A NeoCon "Rapture" in the making.

We have lunatics and psychopaths in Washington, D.C. ... and most people just don't care.
:puke:

[stickdog]

2. It's good for the economy ...

of Halliburton and the Carlyle Group.

[struggle4progress]

5. kick

:kick:

[delete_bush]

6. I'm surprised that Japan is so

high on the list. I thought they relied on the U.S. for protection, or at least spent way less than China.

Exactly who out there is such a threat that we are "forced" to spend almost half of the world's total on defense?

And is there another category for "offensive" spending?