New Weapons Pushed Back Means Bush Not Rewarding Cronies?

Instapundit links to Q and O about this Reuters article. From Reuters:

President Bush said on Sunday that he would ask Congress to approve $87 billion more in spending for the U.S. military and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan, on top of $79 billion already approved. These huge outlays, however, will prove far from a boon for most U.S. defense contractors, analysts said.

The lion's share of the spending will go for personnel and operating costs in Iraq and Afghanistan, rather than jacking up appropriations for new and existing weapons programs, they said.

Given budget pressures, big defense companies will likely see more orders for munitions, spare parts and communications services than any dramatic growth in new weapons sales.

One: Instapundit says Bush is buying beans, not bullets. Instapundit should read source articles before linking -- bullets are exactly what Bush is buying.

Two: Q and O says this is proof that the M/I complex is not "alive and well" in the Bush Administration. How anyone Anyone who can look at $142 billion new dollars flowing from the US treasury into the hands of major defense contractors and claim this is truly blind to the obvious.

Three: Some M/I programs are being shelved or delayed. Okay, fine. Where is the money flowing? It's going to Bechtal and Halliburton. Both articles referenced by Corpwatch.org start at the billion dollar range for both companies and project astronomical revenues for these companies. Bechtal is rebuilding the infrastructure, and Halliburton is "building and managing military bases, [providing] logistical support for the 1,200 intelligence officers hunting Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, delivering mail and producing millions of hot meals." That's where the money is going, and will continue to go, to Bush cronies enjoying low-bidder or no-bid contracts.

The M/I complex is alive and well. All we're seeing is who's getting the hind teat on our tax dollars.