[News] US responsible for 37 percent of global military spending

[Anti-Imperialist News]

 US responsible for 37 percent of global military spending: SIPRI

Washington is on track to surpass a $1 trillion yearly defense budget
before the end of the decade

News Desk <https://thecradle.co/authors/news-desk-9>

APR 22, 2024 -
https://thecradle.co/articles/us-responsible-for-37-percent-of-global-military-spending-sipri
(Photo Credit: Giannis Papanikos/Shutterstock)

The US again topped the list of world military spending, accounting for 37
percent of a reported $2.4 trillion spent in defense by nations worldwide
in 2023, according to figures
<https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/2404_fs_milex_2023.pdf>
released on 22 April by the Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute (SIPRI).

“In 2023, military spending increased in all five geographical regions for
the first time since 2009,” the western think tank reports, highlighting
that the 6.8 percent spike in global military spending from a year earlier
is “the highest level ever recorded by SIPRI.”

The Pentagon alone accounted for 37 percent of the total figure, far
outweighing all other nations with a defense budget of $916 billion for
2023.

China trails behind in second place, with a defense budget of $296 billion,
which marks a six percent spike from 2022 and a massive jump of 60 percent
from 2014. Russia comes in third with $109 billion, as the nation boosted
its defense spending by 24 percent from the previous year.

India and Saudi Arabia round out the top five, with $83.6 billion and $75.8
billion spent on defense in 2023, respectively.

The Saudi kingdom is the highest defense spender in West Asia, followed by
Israel with $27.5 billion and Turkiye with $15.8 billion. The region saw a
nine percent spike in military expenditures in 2023.

Experts have warned that US defense spending will surpass $1 trillion per
year before the decade is out, as Washington has remained steadfast in
fueling conflicts across the globe, including the war in Ukraine and
the Israeli
genocide
<https://thecradle.co/articles/israel-kills-dozens-in-rafah-as-us-approves-billions-for-more-weapons>
in Gaza. In its most recent bill, on 20 April, the US House passed a $95
billion foreign aid package that would provide additional funding to
Israel, Ukraine, and Taiwan.

The blank check handed to US defense officials every year comes despite the
Pentagon's failure
<https://thecradle.co/articles/for-sixth-year-pentagon-fails-to-account-for-over-3t>
to pass its independent annual audit for six years in a row.

The Pentagon's shadowy practices have boosted the profits of US weapons
makers
<https://thecradle.co/articles/us-arms-dealers-sued-for-aiding-and-abetting-war-crimes-in-yemen>
like Lockheed
Martin, Raytheon, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman, as their profits have
soared despite the challenges posed by inflation and supply chain issues
caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The predatory practices of the US military-industrial complex were put on
full display earlier this month after JP Morgan upgraded
<https://responsiblestatecraft.org/lockheed-martin-israel-war/> the outlook
for Lockheed Martin from “hold” to “buy” one day after Iran launched a
massive retaliatory attack on Israel, setting a higher price target for the
arms dealer's stock.

“What we can say is that it’s a dangerous world, and while that is not a
sufficient condition for defense stocks to outperform, it is a potential
source of support, especially when they are under-owned,” JP Morgan analyst
Seth Seifman said on 15 April. The New York-based financial institution
owns $355 million worth of Lockheed Martin stock, about a third of which
was bought in the last quarter of 2023.
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