Military Spending of the United States

“The World Bank estimates that, if countries improve their policies and institutions, the additional foreign aid required to reach the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 is between $40-$60 billion a year” (http://topics.developmentgateway.org). Is the United States really trying? Consider this:

* “The United States spends more than the next 45 highest spending countries in the world combined.
* The United States accounts for 48 percent of the world's total military spending.
* The United States spends on its military 5.8 times more than China, 10.2 times more than Russia, and 98.6 times more than Iran.

The United States and its strongest allies (the NATO countries, Japan, South Korea and Australia) spend $1.1 trillion on their militaries combined, representing 72 percent of the world's total” (www.armscontrolcenter.org).