Attack of the Pork Hawks | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary

Attack of the Pork Hawks | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: 'the Department of Defense spends most of its money to protect other nations, including those that are populous and prosperous. All together, the Europeans have a larger GDP and population than America and ten times the GDP and three times the population of Russia. South Korea has 40 times the GDP and twice the population of North Korea. Why is the U.S. taxpayer still paying for their protection, 67 years after World War II ended?

Even worse has been Washington's foray into militarized nation-building. The Balkans remains a mess nearly two decades after Washington intervened. The Iraq War weakened America and strengthened Iran. The U.S. has been trying to create a competent, honest, and democratic central government in Kabul for a decade. None of these missions advances U.S. security.'

'Like liberals spending on education, these right-wingers equate money with results. Thus bigger Pentagon budgets mean increased national security. Only it's not true: greater military spending is strategic waste on a grand scale.'

'Washington already has a thousand military installations around the world. The American navy is equivalent to that of next 13 navies combined, 11 of which belong to U.S. allies.'

'Washington spends as much as the rest of the world — and spends more, in real terms, than at any point during the Korean War, Vietnam War, or Cold War. America could spend less and still possess far larger and more capable forces than anyone else.'

'Reductions in military spending, we are told, would be "totally destructive" and "very dangerous to the survival of the country," would "destroy" the Pentagon, set America on a "perilous course," be "dangerous and irresponsible," leave America "in the greatest peril," "would decimate our military," threaten America's "national security interests," be "totally devastating," send "a very horrible message" to America's enemies, create the "threat of gutting national security," "break" the military, "invite aggression," cause "severe and irreversible impact," leave America "teetering on the precipice of disaster," cause "catastrophic damage," "put our national security on the chopping block," leave "a hollow force," "disarm the United States unilaterally," result in "American lives lost," fail "to provide for the safety and security of our country," and call "into question our nation's ability to remain a free people."

All of this from returning military outlays to 2007 levels.

The fundamental question is whether military spending should respond to the threat environment. Leading Republicans answer no: America must always and in every situation spend more.'