Latest column full of errors - again

Of all the enemies to public liberty war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes. … No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.
—James Madison, 1795

Gil's Column

Of all the enemies to public liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops the germ of every other. War is the parent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes; ... No nation could reserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.

Source - The Online Library of Liberty, A Project of the Liberty Fund, Inc.

Globalsecurity.org, which analyzes worldwide military and security trends, last week published a handy graph illustrating the gulf between what we, the United States, spend on our military versus the rest of the world. We don't merely outspend Iran — in 2008 we will outspend the rest of the world combined, $623 billion to everyone else's $500 billion.

You will notice that $500 billion is a 2004 estimate.

For a better comparison on military expenditures, visit this link which ranks the USA as #28 in the world.

Claim: We spend nearly 10 times what our nearest "competitor," China, spends.

Fact: The % GDP spent on military in China is 4.30%. The USA is 4.06%.

Claim: USA spending is almost 29 times as large as the combined spending of the six 'rogue' states (Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Sudan and Syria), who spent $14.65 billion.

Fact: Again, there is a comparison of 2008 figures with prior year estimates here. The USA is defending about 10 million square kilometers of land. Those six countries combined have one half the area and a smaller GDP to spend on military.