This graphic was with an article in the New York Times on 17 January (click on the link for a better view). I hardly know what to say after studying it. We were warned almost ½ a century ago by President Eisenhower about the pitfalls and folly of letting the military-industrial complex grow larger. We now work to feed the beast. What is criminal is what we could do to improve life in our country (and the world) if we didn’t feed this beast.

True, this graph is about the cost of the war in Iraq, but Iraq is merely a manifestation of the iron grip that the military-industrial has on our economy, our lives, and our very souls. It isn’t that we could have funded universal health care, or universal preschool, or ensure our security by enacting all of the 9/11 Commission’s recommendations, or conquering cancer, or immunize all of the children of the world against childhood diseases: we could have done it all and have a chunk of change left over.

Instead, we have more Americans lacking medical insurance than before 2000. We have children not getting the early head start on education that would make them better educated and more employable in the 21st century. We are less secure and have ports and borders that are not better protected than before 9/11. We’ve been lucky so far, but we can’t be lucky forever. Yes, cancer deaths have gone down, but wouldn’t it be wonderful to be rid of that scourge forever? And, children are dying around the world for lack of the most rudimentary of immunizations.

Let’s stop feeding the beast. Let’s stop allowing excuses to be made that only serve to prioritize our resources into areas that don’t benefit us. Let’s stop spending blood and treasure on a mis-adventure that has no good end.

We do need to go after terrorists around the world. What we don’t need to do is go to war. War only encourages the growth of terrorism, and don’t let the administration fool you: this war has made terrorism a growth industry. Good police work and intelligence are what is needed to fight terrorism. In “old” Europe, that is what has been breaking up terrorist cells. Diplomacy is what needed to pressure countries to support the fight against terrorists.

War is always the last and worst resort. We sentient beings can do better.

Please give what you can to Médecins sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders).

And, of course