Essay Database

Prior to September 11, 2001 the line delineating national defense expenditures and other expenditures in the federal budget was reasonably clear. And civil expenditures that became defense expenditures in time of war or national emergency were well understood. For example, the Coast Guard, as a peacetime component of the Department of Transportation, came under Navy direction, while the National Guard, nominally under command of state governors, was federalized. Plans were also in place to make available private …

…requested. Rumsfeld said nearly half of the $62.6 billion Bush requested for the Pentagon has been spent or committed to the conflict. For the cost of one day of war waged against Iraq, the United States could significantly impact treatment for the 40 million people worldwide living with HIV, argues Allan Rosenfield. Funding could also benefit the reproductive health and rights of the 600,000 women who die each year of pregnancy related deaths--95 percent of which are preventable.