“Viewpoints” is a place on Chapelboro where local people are encouraged to share their unique perspectives on issues affecting our community. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work, reporting or approval of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com. If you’d like to contribute a column on an issue you’re concerned about, interesting happenings around town, reflections on local life — or anything else — send a submission to viewpoints@wchl.com.
Stop the Monstrous New Pentagon Budget
A perspective from Chris Mayfield
Increasingly often, it’s just hard to believe one’s lying eyes. Last Tuesday, the House Armed Services Committee released its proposed 2027 Pentagon budget (NCAA) of a staggering $1.15 trillion. And get this: section 224 of this bill proposes essentially melding together the armed forces of the US and Israel.
Section 224 would require the US Defense (or War) Secretary to appoint an “executive agent”—a single official to coordinate military cooperation between the US and Israel. It proposes “network integration “ and “data fusion” of military technology. Ben Freeman of the Quincy Institute wrote, “In other words, the US military’s data could soon be the Israeli military’s data.”
This cooperation would include shared weapons research and production, and the linking of military systems and data. Former State Department official Josh Paul commented, “What Congress is trying to do now is find different ways of entrenching the relationship so deep in America’s own industrial base that it’s impossible to root it out.”
Already, police departments across the country—and agencies like ICE and the Border Patrol—receive training in Israel in “counterterrorism “ tactics, including controversial and deeply unpopular surveillance technology. We all saw these techniques at work spectacularly in Minneapolis this winter.
To add insult to injury, this whole project—the $1.15 trillion budget plus the “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative” (section 224)—has bipartisan support. The bill was proposed by Republican Mike Rogers, chair of the House Armed Services Committee, and its most senior Democrat—Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state.
Debate is just starting in Congress on the $1.15 trillion NDAA and its nightmare section 224. The Armed Services Committee will decide early this month in what form to send it to the House and Senate for votes. I called Rep. Valerie Foushee’s office this morning to express my opposition, and was told by an aide that she also opposes the bill as it is now written. I also called both of our Senators. Now that Tillis doesn’t need any more campaign contributions, maybe he’ll feel freed—like Louisiana’s recently defeated Senator Cassidy—to show a little backbone.
We have possibly a few weeks to make it clear—in what is claimed to be a democracy—that most Americans oppose the “forever wars” that would be funded by this monstrous budget, and especially the insanity of melding our War Department with that of Israel.
“Viewpoints” on Chapelboro is a recurring series of community-submitted opinion columns. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work or reporting of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com.
