"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. The world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. … Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron. ... Is there no other way the world may live?"[12] 

Here are some contemporary facts that put what Eisenhower said in perspective:

The 1991 Gulf War cost the Allies a half billion dollars a day, or about $350,000 a minute. One fighter plane costs about $25 million. One Tomahawk cruise missile costs $1.3 million. One air-to-air missile costs $800,000.

Translated into more relatable expenses, for the price of one Sparrow radar-guided missile, a school full of hungry children could eat lunch every day for five years.

These figures are peanuts compared to the billions that are annually poured into weapons and warfare worldwide. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute reports that world military expenditures are averaging between $900 billion and $1 trillion a year. Using the $1 trillion figure, that means an astronomical two million dollars are spent worldwide on the military every minute! A $30 billion, 10-year plan to provide clean water to the poor of the developing world would cost just ten days of military spending. Eighteen days of military spending yearly could eradicate malnutrition worldwide. Experts believe that $200 million, or about three hours of military spending, could wipe out the diseases of diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, measles and polio, which together kill four million children every year.[13]

© Copyright, The Family 1998-2000