There have been some discussions on Grist lately of the military, the military budget, how how militarism relates to sustainability.
Everyone interested in those topics should immediately go and read “Entrenched, Embedded, and Here to Stay: The Pentagon’s Expansion Will Be Bush’s Lasting Legacy” over on TomDispatch. It is a deeply disturbing — not to say nightmare-inducing — story about how the Pentagon has metastasized under the Bush administration.
As the clock ticks down to November 4, 2008, a lot of people are investing hope (as well as money and time) in the possibility of change at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. But when it comes to the Pentagon, don’t count too heavily on change, no matter who the new president may be. After all, seven years, four months, and a scattering of days into the Bush presidency, the Pentagon is deeply entrenched in Washington and still aggressively expanding. It has developed a taste for unrivaled power and unequaled access to the treasure of this country. It is an institution that has escaped the checks and balances of the nation.
[shudder]
