No money for social ills in America but $6.5 billion for Iraq for a

[sad sally]

broad range of social and security projects. Yeah, the US spent 20 years destroying Iraq; any chance all this money will actually be spent on the citizens?
#####

“We are standing up an embassy to carry out a $6.5 billion program, when you throw in the refugee program as well as the actual State Department budget for 2012, of assistance in support for Iraq on a very broad variety of security and non-security issues,” Jeffrey (US Ambassador) told reporters at a roundtable.
----
He said there is also “a little less than $300 million that goes to refugee and displaced person programs.”

“It doesn’t come directly onto the Iraq account ... but we get a very significant part of that here, and it’s used by other agencies and activities for example in Jordan and Syria,” home of sizeable Iraqi refugee communities.

Jeffrey also discussed U.S. military sales to Iraq. “We have about $8 billion, give or take some, of active (foreign military sales) cases with Iraq. “That’s not counting the new one that just came out for the F-16s (warplanes). That will send it up by a number of additional billions of dollars,” Jeffrey said. “This is one of the biggest programs in the world.”

http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/11/27/179483.html?du

[Booster]

1. This really pisses me off. It'll just be stolen like the rest.

[DCKit]

5. +1 nt

[Johonny]

15. +1

[bigwillq]

2. K and R (nt)

[Newest Reality]

3. The real priorities of this Empire

will not be spelled-out to us, nor will they be given much attention in the corporate owned and controlled media propaganda mills.

Our general welfare, (which is now a bad word) as a people appears to be of greatly diminished concern for the valuable corporate/government paradigm that functions like a merger and helps to assure an increasing flow of profits to the special interests that matter most while the empire of business is both expanded and protected with military precision and power.

America is still the largest exporter of weapons and so, the arms profiteers are raking in money supplying the world with machines of destruction while many Americans labor under the agitprop delusion that we are about spreading democracy and that our intentions are benevolent.

The gross inequity here is partially based on the real priorities of those who now own and control the methods and means of the collective paradigm. The 99% will continue to pay for this more and more and in expanded ways, the longer it continues. Meanwhile, India, and other countries are being developed for new markets while we languish in decay and neglect that spreads like cancer across our communities and our failing infrastructure. Oh, and we are helping to arm India, as well:

http://en.mercopress.com/2011/03/14/india-becomes-world-s-top-weapons-importer-us-largest-exporter-says-sipri

[patrice]

4. Nearly $685. billion, in magnetically recorded 0s and 1s, for "defense" spending in the latest

appropriations.

[woo me with science]

6. K&R

Thieves.

[robinlynne]

7. Iraq is buying F16s? Doesn't food and water and rebuilding schools come

before F-16s?

[sad sally]

17. History repeated...

How many times over the course of history has the US mightily armed its friends of the day who turn into our future enemies? Knowing what they have in the way of military weapons makes the arms dealers spend billions of taxpayer money on researchers chomping at the bits to come up with the next series of weapons of mass destruction.

And who leads the charge? Why, it's the people we're told to elect to keep us safe from these horrible weapons we've paid for.

[emilyg]

8. I could scream. I could weep.

[Major Nikon]

9. $20.2 billion annually just for air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan

That's more than the whole yearly budget of NASA.

[upi402]

10. Gee, who IS the enemy?

I have a bad feeling. Just sayin'

[mwrguy]

11. How much of that goes to Blackwater?

Or whatever their name is this week.

[raccoon]

12. Oh, and $2 billion a week for Afghanistan. makes you sick, doesn't it? nt

[Remember Me]

21. 2 billion a WEEK -- when there are hungry CHILDREN here in the US?

That's beyond comprehension. Sick, twisted, and immoral.

[JoePhilly]

13. Down from between 9B to 12B a MONTH, every year since the Iraq war began.

[WinkyDink]

14. The latter is WHY the former.

[Blue Owl]

16. Sickening

Just sickening. What a bunch of B.S.

[Safetykitten]

18. Exhibit A, The "We will cut Defense" fantasy.

[woo me with science]

19. Disgusting, but predictable at this point.

We will continue to have theft for exactly as long as we consent to vote for thieves.

[woo me with science]

20. Kick nt