Defense Secretary Robert Gates has stepped up and acknowledged reality yesterday:
“The grim reality is that with regard to the budget we have entered a zero-sum game. Every defense dollar diverted to fund excess or unneeded capacity… is a dollar that will be unavailable to take care of our people, to win the wars we are in, to deter potential adversaries, and to improve capabilities in areas where America is underinvested and potentially vulnerable. That is a risk that I will not take and one that I cannot accept,” he said.
Lets face it: our Defense budget hasn’t made sense for the past 20 years. We won’t be engaging in any dogfights at mach II with terrorists. The priority should be protecting and better equipping our people on the ground.
I personally think our overall Defense budget needs to get more in line with the rest of the world. It shouldn’t be as massive as it is and our priority as a nation should not be war.
Eisenhower warned us all:
Tags: defense, gates, military industrial complex