Overspent and Overextended | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

Overspent and Overextended | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "he Obama administration's original non-war defense budget was $534 billion. The latter is an increase of $20 billion, or 4 percent (2 percent after inflation). Yet conservatives attacked Obama for 'cutting' military outlays. Robert Kagan of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace charged that the administration was signaling that 'the American retreat has begun.'

It is a curious form of 'retreat.' The U.S. is ramping up the war in Afghanistan. American troops continue to occupy Iraq. The U.S. remains the principal member of every major Cold War alliance: NATO, U.S.-Japan, and U.S.-Korea. America is allied with every major industrialized power outside of China and Russia. U.S. troops are stationed at hundreds of installations in scores of nations around the globe. The American secretary of state continues to circle the globe instructing other nations how to order their economies, reform their political systems, and behave in international relations."

"Military outlays should be tied to threats, not economic growth."

"American foreign policy should reflect international realities and change over time. Both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union were aggressive, hegemonic powers. Both were capable of threatening the survival of other nations. Both had allies around the world.

Today the U.S. faces no significant military threats — a circumstance Americans should celebrate, not regret. As Colin Powell famously declared in 1991 when chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 'I'm running out of demons. I'm running out of enemies. I'm down to Castro and Kim Il Sung.'"

"America possesses the most sophisticated nuclear arsenal and most powerful conventional force. Washington's ability to intervene is unparalleled: the U.S. possesses 11 carrier groups. Russia has one. India has one. There are no others.

Other nations, most notably China, are stirring. But it will take years for them to match, let alone overtake, the U.S. Even subtracting the costs of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars leaves American military outlays around five times those of China, 10 times those of Russia, and 20 times those of India."

"Terrorism remains a pressing security threat. However, terrorist attacks, such as 9/11, though horrid, do not pose an existential danger. Al-Qaeda is no replacement for Nazism and Communism, nuclear-topped ICBMs, and armored divisions. Nor is traditional military force the best way to combat terrorism. International cooperation, improved intelligence, judicious use of Special Forces abroad, and smarter use of police forces at home will work far better in far more cases."

"The second issue is whether more money on the military would better prevent terrorism. It wouldn't."

"Cutting commitments is an imperative for anyone committed to limited government. War is the ultimate big government program"

"When the Constitution authorizes the federal government to 'provide for the common defense,' it means America's defense, not that of well-heeled allies and failed Third World states."