Defenders of the Obama administration keep insisting that the president is raising, not cutting, defense spending. So what are we to make of headlines such as this one from today’s Boston Globe:
“Gates readies big cuts in weapons.”
The article reveals:
Two defense officials who were not authorized to speak publicly said Gates will announce up to a half-dozen major weapons cancellations later this month. Candidates include a new Navy destroyer, the Air Force’s F-22 fighter jet, and Army ground-combat vehicles, the officials said.
More cuts are planned for later this year after a review that could lead to reductions in programs such as aircraft carriers and nuclear arms, the officials said.”
Reporter Bryan Bender chooses to present this as a wise, courageous, and necessary step that is being taken despite caviling from misguided conservatives and avaricious defense contractors. He writes:
As a former CIA director with strong Republican credentials, Gates is prepared to use his credibility to help Obama overcome the expected outcry from conservatives. And after a lifetime in the national security arena, working in eight administrations, the 65-year-old Gates is also ready to counter the defense companies and throngs of retired generals and other lobbyists who are gearing up to protect their pet projects.
But can we really afford to cut our acquisition programs at a time when we are fighting two wars and when major rivals such as China and Russia are pursuing aggressive programs of military expansion? And why, at a time of deepening recession, do we want to throw thousands of highly skilled defense-industry employees out of work? Isn’t this rather at odds with the purpose of the gigantic stimulus bill that President Obama just signed?
None of those questions are examined in the Boston Globe article but they are issues conservatives should raise — urgently and aggressively. It’s good to see Obama sending more troops to Afghanistan but we don’t want to repeat the recent British experience of expanding military commitments and declining resources. We can afford to spend more on defense (which still takes up less than 4% of GDP — roughly half the Cold War average), and we must do so to preserve the remarkable Pax Americana that has done so much to advance freedom and prosperity since World War II.
