Along with the harm caused by its outsized greenhouse gas emissions and its exploitation of climate chaos as an excuse for imperialism, the Pentagon wreaks terrible damage by soaking up trillions of dollars in government funds that should have gone to meet all-too-human needs, mitigate climate change, and repair the ecological damage the Pentagon itself has caused in its wars and other activities in this century.
Doing extraordinary good on the world stage?
On 1 February, the Myanmar military overthrew the elected government. By 1 May, the British government had cut millions of pounds of already committed aid, ending live programmes, including projects supporting people in Myanmar to resolve conflicts without violence and achieve peaceful change.
In its much heralded, and much delayed, Civil Society Partnership Review published in November 2016 then Secretary of State for International Development, Priti Patel, stated that, ‘Britain’s civil society organisations (CSOs) do extraordinary good around the world. From delivering life-saving assistance when disaster strikes, to addressing the underlying causes of deprivation, our CSOs are on the front line of the battle against extreme poverty. The Government will give them our strongest support.’ Patel declared that ‘together we will build a post-Brexit Britain that is generous, outward-looking and fully engaged on the world stage’.