The monstrous US military budget is a classic illustration of the proverb about not seeing the wood for the trees. It is such an overwhelming outgrowth, all too often it is misperceived.
In recent years, Washington’s military expenditure averages around $600 billion a year. That’s over half of the total discretionary spending by the US government, exceeding budgets for education, health and social security. It’s well over a third of the total world military annual spend of $1.7 trillion.
The incipient military-industrial complex that President Dwight Eisenhower warned of in his farewell speech in 1961 has indeed become a central, defining feature of American society and economy. To talk of «American free-market capitalism» is a staggering oxymoron when so much of the country’s economy is wholly dependent on government-funded militarism.
Or put it another way: if the US military budget were somehow drastically reduced in line with other nations, the all-powerful military-industrial complex and the American state as we know it would collapse…
War has been raging in Syria for five years, causing millions to leave the country. This is the story of some who’ve stayed. When the bloody conflict began, many Syrians had to put their lives on hold until the situation stabilised. But even after five years, there’s still no end in sight to the devastating war. Many civilians have lost their homes, their possessions and even loved ones. In an attempt to preserve at least some semblance of normality in their lives, people have learnt to live in the violently conflicted state. Just as in times of peace, they go to the market, meet in cafes, work, marry and organise big weddings. In Damascus, there’s been less devastation than in many other big Syrian cities, and so the capital welcomed many internally displaced refugees, but even here, no one is truly safe. Shells explode and kill indiscriminately, destroying roads, cars, buildings and killing anyone who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sameer Alfarra is a cameraman for a Syrian TV Channel. He came to Damascus from Aleppo, fleeing the fighting and leaving his house and businesses behind. As the war progressed, he saw the strength of character in the ordinary Syrians who chose to remain in their home country. After filming people’s stories every day, visiting new sites of destruction and losing colleagues as war casualties, he knows better than anyone, what it takes for Syrian people to carry on with their lives, every day. Through his camera lens, he wants to show us the toll war has taken on the Syrian people as well as their unbroken spirit and how, through all the hardships and grief, they still manage to preserve love and hope for a peaceful future.
The UN Security Council on Friday unanimously adopted resolution No. 2268 on cessation of combat activities in Syria.
The council reiterated commitment to Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, voicing support to settle the crisis in Syria through the UN, based on Geneva Statement and Vienna declarations.
Members of the Council called on UN Secretary General and his Special Envoy for Syria to resume the Syrian-Syrian dialogue as soon as possible.
In a statement after the Council adopted the resolution, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov stressed the need to stop the support provided for terrorist organizations by foreign sides because that hinders the political solution for the crisis in Syria.