Military Spending Could Be Cut in Half and There’s No Reason To Build New Nuclear Weapons

[Stalin]

Probably the last time we will hear this whopper, which if true, would be wonderful news.

"President Trump told reporters on Thursday that he believes US military spending could eventually be cut in half and that he wants to pursue the idea as part of an agreement with Russia and China. He also said there was no reason to build new nuclear weapons.

“At some point, when things settle down, I’m going to meet with China and I’m going to meet with Russia, in particular those two, and I’m going to say there’s no reason for us to be spending almost $1 trillion on the military … and I’m going to say we can spend this on other things,” Trump said.

“When we straighten it all out, then one of the first meetings I want to have is with President Xi of China and President Putin of Russia, and I want to say let’s cut our military budget in half. And we can do that, and I think we’ll be able to do that,” he added.

The US spends significantly more on its military than Russia and China combined. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in 2023, the US accounted for 37% of global military spending. China came in second but was still far behind, accounting for 12% of military spending, and Russia was in third at 4.5%.

Trump: Military Spending Could Be Cut in Half and There's No Reason To Build New Nuclear Weapons - News From Antiwar.com

President Trump told reporters on Thursday that he believes US military spending could eventually be cut in half and that he wants to pursue the idea as part of an agreement with Russia and China. He also said there was no reason to build new nuclear weapons. "At some point, when things…

news.antiwar.com

comrade stalin
moscow

 

[Stalin]

Judging by the nil response, it looks like no-one else believes this trash either..

I liked the bit where they sacked huge numbers of nuclear weapons custodians before doing a reversal.

Among those on the receiving end of the probationary-employee bazooka shot were hundreds employed by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA). On Thursday, they found themselves suddenly out of work. For some, ominous indicators preceded receipt of official termination -- unable to access email or finding their badges didn't open their office doors on Friday. According to anonymous sources who spoke to AP, upwards of 350 probationary NNSA employees were fired.

Though the agency supervises production of new nuclear warheads and maintains existing ones, the NNSA isn't part of the Department of Defense, but rather the Department of Energy, where a total of about 2,000 probationary employees were targeted. About 30% of NNSA's share of the terminations hit the DoE's Pantex Plant, which is responsible for "assembly, disassembly, testing, and evaluation of nuclear weapons in support of the NNSA stockpile stewardship program." The agency is overseeing a multi-year modernization program encompassing seven types of warheads, as part of a nuclear weapon overhaul program that has a disturbing price tag of $1.7 trillion.

Apparently realizing its ax had slashed through an unintended target, the Trump administration raced to negate the terminations. On Friday night, acting NNSA director Teresa Robbins fired off a memo rescinding the terminations for hundreds of fired probationary employees -- minus 28 who were excluded from the reprieve. The memo obtained by AP read:

“This letter serves as formal notification that the termination decision issued to you on Feb. 13, 2025 has been rescinded, effective immediately."

At least initially, the NNSA was having trouble tracking down some fired-and-unfired employees. "We do not have a good way to get in touch with those personnel,” NNSA officials wrote in an email sent to other employees, seeking their help in getting the word out via their "personal contact emails."

Critics leapt on the debacle. “The DOGE people are coming in with absolutely no knowledge of what these departments are responsible for,” Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, told AP. "They don’t seem to realize that it’s actually the department of nuclear weapons more than it is the Department of Energy.”

Oops: Trump Administration Un-Fires Hundreds Of Nuclear Weapon Workers | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero

www.zerohedge.com

Comrade Stalin
Moscow