bobdina
05-11-2010, 11:01 AM
Matt Gurney: America's military goes on the chopping block
Posted: May 10, 2010, 11:15 AM by Matt Gurney
Full Comment, Matt Gurney, U.S. military, Robert Gates, Pentagon
Speaking at the Eisenhower Presidential Library on Saturday, marking the 65th anniversary of Victory in Europe, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said aloud what all observers have known was coming — reduced American military spending. "Given America's difficult economic circumstances and parlous fiscal condition, military spending on things large and small can and should expect closer, harsher scrutiny," he said.
This isn't simply about reducing the rate of growth, as Canada has done. According to the Wall Street Journal, Gates warned that "the overall defense budget would no longer increase by enough money each year to fund the military's current force structure." In other words, America can no longer afford the military it already has.
Republicans and defence hawks will have a field day with this. They've been warning for years that the Democrats want to gut America's defences, and now can claim to have proof. Will the cuts proposed by Gates amount to "gutting"? It's impossible to say, but it's unlikely — Congressmen need to get re-elected and will zealously defend any defence contractors in their districts whilst simultaneously boosting their own national security credentials. But certainly, some big-ticket expenditures will join further production of F-22 stealth fighters on the chopping block. (Indeed, Gates is already in the midst of a very public spat with the Navy over the future size of the American carrier fleet — Gates thinks 10 ought to be enough, but the Navy is adamant that only 11 will do.)
Such cuts have been coming for a while. NASA has already been virtually shut down so it was only a matter of time until the military came under the axe. The cuts, if done properly, might not be harmful — military history has shown again and again that top-of-the-line weapons get more and more expensive and less effective. Primitive firearms easily overwhelmed the expensive, cumbersome armour worn by medieval knights. Machine guns could wipe out whole battalions of infantry. In modern times, enormous battle tanks can be knocked out by RPGs wielded by an insurgent, high-tech choppers fall victim to shoulder-fired missiles and multi-billion-dollar aircraft carriers fear a swarm of cruise missiles worth a measly few million. And South Korea recently lost an advanced warship, almost certainly to a torpedo fired by the far less advanced North Korean fleet.
If Gates' reforms create a more agile, flexible military, America might benefit. If the axe is wielded indiscriminately and with an eye only towards reining in America's chronic deficits, that would be very bad news for the Free World.
National Post
mgurney@nationalpost.com
Read more: http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/05/10/matt-gurney-america-s-military-goes-on-the-chopping-block.aspx#ixzz0ndKIby18
Posted: May 10, 2010, 11:15 AM by Matt Gurney
Full Comment, Matt Gurney, U.S. military, Robert Gates, Pentagon
Speaking at the Eisenhower Presidential Library on Saturday, marking the 65th anniversary of Victory in Europe, U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates said aloud what all observers have known was coming — reduced American military spending. "Given America's difficult economic circumstances and parlous fiscal condition, military spending on things large and small can and should expect closer, harsher scrutiny," he said.
This isn't simply about reducing the rate of growth, as Canada has done. According to the Wall Street Journal, Gates warned that "the overall defense budget would no longer increase by enough money each year to fund the military's current force structure." In other words, America can no longer afford the military it already has.
Republicans and defence hawks will have a field day with this. They've been warning for years that the Democrats want to gut America's defences, and now can claim to have proof. Will the cuts proposed by Gates amount to "gutting"? It's impossible to say, but it's unlikely — Congressmen need to get re-elected and will zealously defend any defence contractors in their districts whilst simultaneously boosting their own national security credentials. But certainly, some big-ticket expenditures will join further production of F-22 stealth fighters on the chopping block. (Indeed, Gates is already in the midst of a very public spat with the Navy over the future size of the American carrier fleet — Gates thinks 10 ought to be enough, but the Navy is adamant that only 11 will do.)
Such cuts have been coming for a while. NASA has already been virtually shut down so it was only a matter of time until the military came under the axe. The cuts, if done properly, might not be harmful — military history has shown again and again that top-of-the-line weapons get more and more expensive and less effective. Primitive firearms easily overwhelmed the expensive, cumbersome armour worn by medieval knights. Machine guns could wipe out whole battalions of infantry. In modern times, enormous battle tanks can be knocked out by RPGs wielded by an insurgent, high-tech choppers fall victim to shoulder-fired missiles and multi-billion-dollar aircraft carriers fear a swarm of cruise missiles worth a measly few million. And South Korea recently lost an advanced warship, almost certainly to a torpedo fired by the far less advanced North Korean fleet.
If Gates' reforms create a more agile, flexible military, America might benefit. If the axe is wielded indiscriminately and with an eye only towards reining in America's chronic deficits, that would be very bad news for the Free World.
National Post
mgurney@nationalpost.com
Read more: http://network.nationalpost.com/NP/blogs/fullcomment/archive/2010/05/10/matt-gurney-america-s-military-goes-on-the-chopping-block.aspx#ixzz0ndKIby18