Mahbub ul Haq Quotes
Action must begin in the developing world itself. These countries do not lack financial resources. What they lack is political courage. We need to ask the leaders of the Third World, and ask them bluntly, why they insist on spending $130 billion each year on the military when even a quarter of this expenditure can finance their entire essential social agenda. And we must ask them why they insist on having six soldiers for every one doctor when their people are dying of ordinary diseases, from internal disintegration, not from external aggression, from many threats to human security, not any threats to territorial security.
Mahbub ul-Haq, Pakistani Director of the World Bank’s Planning Department, Member of the Pakistani Cabinet, The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Reflections on Working Toward Peace
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Japan was a militarist aggressive state when they started WWII in the Pacific. Their military brutalized China and almost every other country in Asia committing atrocities that those nations still are bitter about today. The unconditional surrender required that their new Constitution prohibit a military. However some of the Conservatives like Abe do not believe that Japan should be the only nation denied a military. Most of the rest of Asia even resents and fears the defense forces that they have and would seriously oppose a reestablishment of a military.
After American troops were deployed to Saudi Arabia following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait:
Even in democratic America, this has been true. We spend almost any amount of money to give our military the weapons of war that will make them more effective soldiers, but when they return with mental and physical wounds, government money is not so easy to come by to preserve them in good health. Cost is a major consideration in Veterans benefits and care, but weapons expenditures have little restraint. It has been so for many years in many cultures.
The Progressive article was an interview with Movie Director and Screenwriter Oliver Stone who told the interviewer that he had learned of this quotation when he did his research for his film, South of the Border where he had several interviews with President Kirchner.
Since the Partition of India to create the state of Pakistan, Pakistan has wanted to integrate the Muslims—especially near the border. However, many Indian Muslims did not choose to leave India for the new Islamic nation. Pakistan has had designs on some of the Indian areas and has maintained a very large army.
The Congress wants to keep control of exactly what the Pentagon buys so that each member can try to get more than his fair share of the Federal dollar. But the Congressional budget process is usually slow, and with the recent Congresses they can hardly get anything done. The President nor the Secretary of Defense cannot stop or slow down procurements that are not needed or can be deferred and spend the already appropriated funds on emergency needs for the troops fighting in the field.
Mahbub ul Haq was a Pakistani economist, politician and international development theorist who served as Finance Minister of Pakistan from 10 April 1985 until 28 January 1986, and again from June to December of 1988.
