Why Jake Tapper never asks how we pay for war

Jake Tappers’ career is inextricably linked with the so-called longest war in the United States. His travels there and his Hollywood movie-turned-book detailing his exploits explain how, more than any other pace, he polished his reputation as a serious journalist, and not just another cute suit behind a desk. He has reported dozens of stories on the conflict, made books on events, tweeted non-stop for years about the war in Afghanistan, and made dozens of segments on the conflict, including a two-hour special at hours of prime time earlier this month lamenting “what went wrong” in the war for the United States.

The second most essential beat to cement its gravity has been its very serious concern about debts and deficits – that is, toasting liberals, leftists and progressives for more than 20 years on “how they will pay.” for »broad social protection programs.

Suspiciously, these two main rhythms of Tapper never crossed. Which is strange, because, as a new study from Brown University shows, the post-9/11 wars cost the Pentagon $ 14 trillion, a third to half of which went to US military contractors. . It’s between $ 4.600 billion and $ 7 trillion, just for the post-September 11 wars contractors. In just one year – fiscal 2020 – the study finds that Lockheed Martin has received $ 75 billion in Pentagon contracts.

The Afghan war in itself was a huge expense. A separate Brown University study finds that “Since the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the United States has spent $ 2.3 trillion on the war, which includes operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “

So what did Tapper highlight to show the risks of government spending skyrocketing? Let’s take a look at the things that made Tapper wonder, “How are we going to pay for this?” “

Here, he toasts New York Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on several of the posts, all in one clip:

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defends an estimated $ 40 trillion price tag for progressive political agendas, including Medicare for All https://t.co/ZqR6WWpmI2 pic.twitter.com/JoDDeIq712

– CNN (@CNN) September 16, 2018

Sarah Lazare (In these times, 3/2/20) noted that the moderators of the debate “say we can afford policies that propagate militarism, but not those that protect human life”.

Tapper has used some of the biggest platforms possible to engage in this line of questioning. As Column the contributor Sarah Lazare noted in March 2020: “The first night of the second democratic debate, CNNJake Tapper asked four questions in close succession, asking candidates how Medicare for All would be paid. In just one example, he told then-senator Elizabeth Warren: “At the last debate you said you were, in quotes,” with Bernie on Medicare for All “:

Now Senator Sanders has said middle class people will pay more taxes to help pay for Medicare for All, although this is offset by the elimination of insurance premiums and other costs. . Are you also, let’s quote, “with Bernie” on Medicare for All when it comes to raising taxes for middle-class Americans to pay it off?

As Lazarus noted in the article, no questions were asked of the centrist Democrats on stage as to how they planned to “pay” for their support for large military budgets and wars.

Now let’s take a look at the items Tapper never claimed they would pay for it (20 year costs)

• Over $ 700 billion US annual defense budget (approximately $ 14 trillion)
• Iraq War ($ 2,000 billion)
• Afghanistan War ($ 2.3 trillion)
• ISIS War ($ 14 billion)
• The CIA ($ 300 billion)

An audit of transcripts, tweets and articles written by Tapper reveals no questions about the deficit issues for these high-priced articles.

The reason for this glaring inconsistency is that leading media brands like Tapper simply don’t view the empire’s maintenance expenses as questionable, questionable, or subject to critical analysis. This fair expense is-like gravity or the universal constant. These institutions exist, have always existed and go beyond the realm of politics. While programs that house the homeless, feed the poor, fight climate chaos, provide child care, educate people, build roads and schools, and provide jobs for the working class are ” “Costly” “progressive” “wishlists” with “price tags” that must constantly justify item by item to the half-cent.

Never mind that, year after year, the Pentagon cannot perform a basic audit and cannot justify spending $ 21 trillion. The real drivers of our deficit are the dreaded Liberal programs. The mundane, mundane war machine whose bloat and borderline criminal waste is approved annually by Congress and corporate media does not require such an interrogation.

Along with attacker Troop Defender schlocky, Concerned Deficit Scolds is how Tapper came to fame in CNN. While ABC News, Tapper would make press shows out of his deep concern for the national debt, toasting Obama Press Secretary Jay Carney on the Obama stimulus (a stimulus we now know was way too small), while also committing in an easy and incorrect comparison with family budgets. borrowed directly from Pete Peterson’s front groups:

.@jaketapper cut its centrist good faith during the Tea Party years by –

1. act sincerely as if the GOP cares about deficits
2. push the agitprop of ideological cartoons on the “national budget as a family budget”
3. Moral smoothing of WH’s national debt pressors pic.twitter.com/Tx8UN1JmFL

– Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) November 18, 2017

So where is the deep concern after this recent high-profile study found that we have spent $ 14 trillion on wars since 2001? What about these costs that we will “pass on to our children”? Where is Tapper transporting war hawks pushing to stay in Afghanistan, like Senators Lindsey Graham and Bob Menendez, demanding they explain “how they’re going to pay for this”? Such a spectacle will not be forthcoming, for what supports the compelling axioms of American militarism is simply taken for granted, while that which supports the poor, the homeless and the vulnerable is a “wish list.” requiring a rigorous 10-point program detailing a comprehensive fiscal solvency plan.

This post originally appeared on Column (09/14/21), media criticism and political analysis Sub stack newsletter written by Adam Johnson with contributions from Sarah Lazare.