New Pentagon Budget Reflects U.S., China, Russia and India Competition Over Arms As Many Remain Stuck In Poverty

Chinese military experts have been quick to attack the new proposed U.S. military budget as being assisted by fears of China, Russia and India as potential military rivals. Chinese millitary official believe that fears have been elevated solely to help to profit U.S. military contractors.

Yet there are real new weapons spending in states such as China, Russia or India. Russia is building a new force of modern submarines, but this force appears to be limited to just four 5,000 to 6,000 class submarines. Russia also tested a new hypersonic cruise missile in 2005 for President Putin, that were designed to evade any American antimissile defenses.

China has built up it's People's Liberation Army Navy forces in 2005, with 6 new destroyer class ships added, including the antiship Sunburn missiles designed to take out U.S. aircraft carriers. Such a naval force could prove vital in any lightning attack to retake Taiwan by force.

India tested a new sea based ballistic missile, the Dhanush, in late September. This missile is a sea based version of the Prithvi land based missile, and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.

But regardless of any possible conceivable threats from these new weapons, or any potential threat, the fact is that military spending robs societies of needed funds for social needs. Despite any economic adavances in China, by 2001, their society was still deemed to be 100 years behind the U.S. in terms of urbanization, life expectancy and adult literacy despite an economy that the World Bank expects to grow by 9.2% in 2006. China still remains a largely rural agarian type society, although more than 500 large cities with a heavy manufacturing base do exist.

In Russia incomes still lag far behind that of other nations in Europe. Some Russian women can find themselves the victims of sex slavery schemes and brought to nations such as Turkey with a promise of a $700 a month job, far better that the $62 a month many in Russia earn. But an additional 40% of Russians live on $41 a moth or less, way below the Russian poverty level. Yet the Russian government invests in new missiles and submarines while it's people lack work with decent wages to support life.

Even in India, as their military develops new missiles, the average yearly wage is $450 a year. Even many villages either lack electricity or clean drinking water, yet the government invests in new nuclear capable missiles.

In the U.S. , wages continue to fall for many Americans as a corporation such as Wal-Mart offers low paying jobs and controls more and more of the U.S. GNP. Wal-Mart is now 8% of the entire U.S. gross domestic product and Wal-Mart takes in an average of $35 million dollars an hour in receipts. Many American poor only receive $152 a month in Food Stamps while the cost of the Iraq War has now gone over the $239 billion dollar mark, and has cost each American an average of $952. $120 billion more the Iraq and Afghanistan are earmarked in the new Bush budget.

Just like the African continent, poverty continues to soar as leaders squander funds on arms. It is no different in the U.S., China, Russia or India, as each seeks to build a military advantage over the other, leaving many citizens caught in poverty and a lack of social advancement.