One hundred and fifty million dollars for private villas in Afghanistan, $2.7 billion for an air surveillance balloon that doesn't work; $8,000 for a single helicopter part that really costs $500; $50,000 to investigate the iffy bomb-detecting capabilities of African elephants. These are just a few of the ways the Pentagon has found to misuse vast sums of taxpayer money.
In February the Center for International Policy released my report identifying 27 instances of outrageous military spending since President Obama took office. It totaled more than $33 billion of waste. The staggering persistence and profusion of such extravagance suggests that it's time to rethink exactly what it represents. Far from being a mere aberration in need of correction, this is a way of life for the Department of Defense.
Let's take a little tour through the highlights of Pentagon spending stretching back five decades.
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