Department of Defense Contracts

I looked at the DOD contracts given out on Oct. 1st, 2008 for the Navy and was absolutely horrified. For just the navy, the contracts equaled OVER a billion dollars. $1,538,305,324 to be exact. Three of those contracts were modifications to already received contracts meaning that the sum of the contracts is actually substantially larger. Maybe I was so horrified by the huge number because I can't even conceptualize a billion dollars. I just can't seem to wrap my head around such an enormous number, and that's only the Navy. Never mind the Army, the Air Force, and countless other administrations. It's no wonder the US government is in debt... what I'd really like to know from looking at the DOD contracts is actually what comes from each one. All of the contracts are followed by a blurb describing their purpose, but as a citizen I have no idea what they mean. I guess I never realized exactly how much it costs to keep the military running. As we get further and further into this class I'm beginning to understand that there is a lot to do with the military that I was completely oblivious to up to this point in my life.

"Behind Military Analysts, the Pentagon's Hidden Hand" - David Barstow

What struck me the most about this article was the fact that independent news sources are not questioning the credentials, background, business ties and information that the military analysts supply. Also that the news sources don't apply the same ethical standards to the analysts. It is the duty of the news media to supply unbiased news to the American public, and by allowing analysts to spew Pentagon "talking points" all over the airwaves clearly goes against this notion. There is a clear conflict of interest when analysts are being payed by the Pentagon to say one thing and by networks to appear on certain shows. It appears to be all about the profits and ratings rather than the truth.

On top of the conflict of interest the other point that came as a surprise to me, was the fear that the analysts had of displeasing the Pentagon. "Mr. Eads said he had at times held his tongue on television for fear that 'some four-star could call up and say, 'kill that contract". This kind of thing should not be happening. I hold the networks, the Pentagon and the actual analysts responsible for this. Even when analysts knew the information was manipulated they still presented it to the American public. I guess the whole problem traces back to the fact that the war is a) not going the way the Pentagon had hoped it would and b) no matter what the Pentagon had to make it appear to be going well. Everyone is responible in this situation but ultimately it is the Pentagon and what I would call lack of morals. It is wrong to portray something differently than it is, especially when American lives, economy, budget and countless other things rely on the truth. The article definitely left me with an even less respect for the Pentagon officials than I already had.