After the Cold War, both the Republicans and Democrats have reduced the funding of the military, and instead of replacing worn out equipment and fixing what needed to be fixed, they did little. Today’s wars which happen on and off require a nation to be prepared, but they also call to cut the Defense Department’s budget. Read on to see what are the myths and what are truths about the military spending?
Myth
The US spends more on defense than half the world combines, which means that no more should be invested.
Truth
The United States is the most powerful country in the world, and the military is here not only to protect the citizens of its country but to keep the world peace and be the world policeman. What is important is that overall cost is compatible with the size of the country’s economy. Mackenzie Eaglen of the Heritage Foundation wrote: “Defense spending is near historic lows… Between 2010 and 2015, total defense spending is set to fall from 4.9 percent to 3.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), even though the nation has assigned more missions to the military over the past two decades.”
Myth
During Bush Administration, Pentagon spent heaps of money.
Truth
This was not entirely true. America was waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and more money was being spent at the time. But AEI’s Gary Schmitt and Tom Donnelly summed up the situation: “The budget increases that have occurred…are largely tied to fighting the wars. When Bill Clinton left the White House, and Dick Cheney told the military that “help [was] on the way,” the defense burden stood at 3 percent of GDP—a post-World War II low. When George W. Bush headed out the door, the figure for the core defense budget was about 3.5 percent. This is an increase, to be sure, but not one to make the military flush after a decade of declining budgets and deferred procurement.”
The goal during this time is to return the military to pre-war readiness level, and this was difficult to achieve. Part of the money was used to increase the number of the US ground forces. Also, the moral obligation needed to be considered as well. The families of those who fought in the Middle East had to be tended. However, they had to receive an amount of money which would motivate them to answer the call to service.
Myth
Additional earnings can be made in Pentagon by cutting waste and excess. This would make up for shortfalls.
Truth
According to former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, it was necessary to reform defense acquisition and reduce overhead costs, which is why he started an initiative. Even if this was put into practice, it wouldn’t do much to close the gap. The requirements would still be great and resources scarce. The bipartisan Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel stated:
“[T]hose savings will be insufficient for comprehensive [military] modernization. We cannot reverse the decline of shipbuilding, buy enough naval aircraft, recapitalize Army equipment, modernize tactical aircraft, purchase a new aerial tanker, increase our deep-strike capability and recapitalize the bomber fleet just by saving the $10 billion-$15 billion the Department hopes to achieve through acquisition reform….Meeting the crucial requirements of modernization will require a substantial additional investment that is sustained through the long term….Although there is a cost to recapitalizing the military, there is also a potential price associated with not recapitalizing – and in the long run, that cost is much greater.”
Myth
We are spending too much on defense.
Truth
The defense budget is relatively small compared to the federal budget. Pentagon keeps spending less and less in real dollars, but you cannot eliminate the spending entirely. Even if Pentagon had done that at some point, the deficit of the country would still be in trillions. The US national debt has exceeded $20 trillion recently, and the budget used for defense is just one drop in the ocean. Once again, Mackenzie Eaglen noted:
“The substantial decline in the defense share of the budget largely reflects the dramatic growth of entitlement spending. Entitlements now account for around 65 percent of all federal spending and a record 18 percent of GDP. The three largest entitlements—Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid—eclipsed defense spending in 1976 and have been growing ever since. If future taxes are held at the historical average, these three entitlements will consume all tax revenues by 2052, leaving no money for the government’s primary constitutional obligation: providing for the common defense.”
Myth
The USA has a role of the “world’s policeman,” and that needs to stop.
Truth
After the Cold War, Europe has entered the durable peace which lasts today. Countries in East Asia have grown stronger economically and millions of people have exited poverty. However, this peace couldn’t have been achieved by itself. It was partly due to America’s involvement and the fact is that no-one would be able or would want to assume the role of the USA. According to the Quadrennial Defense Review Independent Panel, the future is:
” …likely to place an increased demand on American “hard power” to preserve regional balances. While diplomacy and development have important roles to play, the world’s first-order problems will continue to be our security concerns….As the last 20 years have shown, America does not have the option of abandoning a leadership role in support of its national interests….Failure to anticipate and manage the conflicts that threaten those interests…will not make those conflicts go away….It will simply lead to an increasingly unstable and unfriendly global climate and, eventually, to conflicts America cannot ignore.”
In other words, the USA cannot afford to recover all that it has achieved or lose it altogether. Repairing such damage would be too expensive even for the US and preserving the “world-policeman” role is cost-effective.
Myth
Winning the current wars should be the country’s primary concern. The defense spending must be focused on that primarily.
Truth
America’s role is too big to focus on just one or two wars the country is in. They need to defend the homeland, plus there is the newly-created cyberspace which is a hotbed of conflicts and the US nation needs to be dominant here as well. Furthermore, its military must assure access to the seas, in the air and space. The US has been fighting for the common good for years, and that means fighting on numerous fronts. Europe is stable and peace is preserved, while currently, America is building peace across the Middle East. They also need to be ready for the rise of the countries in the Asia-Pacific, such as China. To quote former Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates once again:
“As I look around the world and see a more unstable world, more failed and failing states, countries that are investing heavily in their militaries—as I look at places like Iran and North Korea and elsewhere around the world—as I look at the new kinds of threats emerging from cyber to precision ballistic and cruise missiles and so on—my greatest worry is that we will do to the defense budget what we have done four times before. And that is, slash it in an effort to find some kind of a dividend to put the money someplace else. I think that would be disastrous in the world environment we see today and what we’re likely to see in the years to come.”
