Obama was elected as the first anti-war president since Dwight D. Eisenhower promised to end the Korean Conflict. War is big money to the US, and this country is the world’s top military spender!  Obama has given this country hope for change, but the biggest change we need is to stop war mongering. Since Pearl Harbor 67 years ago, the US has been on the nonstop warpath, whether covertly or overtly.

War is bad for the environment, bad for society, bad for culture, bad for our health; however, it is good for the economy. As Deepak Chopra wisely said, “Unless it can make as much money as war, peace doesn’t stand a chance.”

Last year, the US overtook Russia as the leading arms supplier to the developing world. The US made $24.8 billion in global arms agreements selling conventional weapons that included: tanks, self-propelled guns, artillery, armored personnel carriers, armored cars, major surface combatants, minor surface combatants, submarines, guided missile patrol boats, supersonic combat aircraft, subsonic combat aircraft, other aircraft, helicopters, surface to air missiles, surface to surface missiles, and anti-ship missiles.  The US dominated 41.5 percent of the global arms market, with Russia coming in second place with 17.3 percent. 70.5 percent of these arms sales went to developing countries.

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Image source: Wikimedia Commons

Data source: TomDispatch.com