Andrew Cockburn, a British journalist and editor of Harper’s Magazine, joined Hill.TV’s “Rising” to discuss what he called some of the “pathetic” moves and messages surrounding the U.S. defense budget.
Congress set aside $780 billion for the Department of Defense in an omnibus spending bill passed last week, which was more than the Biden administration had requested.
“The essential point is, of course, that more money does not equal more defense,” Cockburn said in the interview.
“That $782.5 billion figure was actually more than the Pentagon asked for originally. I mean I think they were very happy to accept the extra money and probably expected to get it,” he added of the most recent budget allocations.
“But I think the only way you’re ever going to change things is if you point out and get the message across to the public that they’re being had,” Cockburn added. “That more money does not equal extra defense.”
The journalist pointed to F-35 fighter jets as an example, saying the plane “at its very best is only capable of carrying out its wartime missions just over half the time and for some of the versions it is 6 percent of the time.”
“This is pathetic, and it’s also outrageous that they should be telling us we need this extra money to defend you for the national security of the United States when, actually, they know themselves that it does no such thing, and I think that’s the message that has to get across,” Cockburn said.
While Republicans have praised the large budget set aside for the Department of Defense and other defense functions, the military spending plan has received some criticism from some progressive Democrats.
“A lot of us continued to be horrified that we just keep increasing military spending even beyond what President Biden asked for, which was already an increase,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) previously said to The Hill.
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