Government largesse

Government largesse says it all in terms of just how much money the Pentagon gets from Uncle Sam with rather questionable benefits when it comes how it relates to foreign policy, especially in the middle east & Africa.

Sometimes, it’s hard to believe that perfectly sober reportage about Pentagon funding issues isn’t satire in the style of the New Yorker’s Andy Borowitz.  Take, for instance, a recent report in the Washington Examiner that Army Secretary Mark Esper and other Pentagon officials are now urging Congress to release them from a September 30th deadline for fully dispersing their operation and maintenance funds (about 40% of the department’s budget).  In translation, they’re telling Congress that they have more money than even they can spend in the time allotted.

From the Washington Examiner
Army Secretary Mark Esper said he has been meeting with members of Congress about relaxing a Sept. 30 deadline for using its annual operations and maintenance funds, an account that is about 40 percent of the total Pentagon budget.

“Allow me to spend O&M money for more than one fiscal year. Allow me to spend it for two fiscal years, that way I can smooth that curve out,” Esper said on Thursday. “I can make better use of the taxpayers’ dollars, I can ensure more soldiers are trained and well-trained, and I think overall we can deliver a much better product.”

A better product ...

By congressional mandate, the Pentagon needs to be ready for an audit of its finances by Sept. 30, 2017. If what’s going on at the U.S. Army is any indication — and it is — then next fall’s audit will be a shit-show of broken promises, cooked books and bizarre accounting.

The Army made headlines in mid-August 2016 when a Defense Department Inspector General report landed with a heavy thud. The 75-page report detailed all the ways the Army screwed up its accounting of the Army General Fund in 2015.

According to the report, Army bookkeepers screwed up the budget to the tune of … $6.5 trillion dollars.

Yes, Trillion.

Yes, war is a racket and a profitable one at that.