Gorbachev Scolds Obama and McCain

According to Mikhail Gorbachev, John McCain and Barack Obama have more in common than they’d like to admit. Both have refused to address their country’s unprecedented military spending, which the former Soviet leader blames for America’s economic woes. Writing in a Russian newspaper, Gorbachev argued that the U.S. behaves “as if the Cold War were not a thing of the past, and the country were surrounded by enemies.”

Washington Post / The Trail:

He blamed U.S. military spending for the downturn in the U.S. economy and said neither Sen. Barack Obama or John McCain has addressed the issue.

“The subject of military spending has literally been shrouded in a curtain of silence,” he said. “This taboo must be lifted.”

The U.S. accounts for 50 percent of the world’s output of arms and military equipment, Gorbachev noted, adding: “It runs over 700 military bases across the world and plans to build more as if the Cold War were not a thing of the past, and the country were surrounded by enemies.”

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