American proponents of Off-shore balancing generally believe that only hegemons arising in Northeast Asia, the Persian Gulf, or Western Europe pose a threat to American power. This is why we spend so much of our time worrying about China's influence in Northeast Asia, Russia's influence in Western Europe, and the growing influence of Iran in the Persian Gulf.
The United States is planning to spend $686 billion on the DoD in FY 2019. Furthermore, the Department of Energy is performing life extension work on 5 types of nuclear warheads, and developing Columbia-class nuclear reactors for the Navy.
As mentioned a few days ago, the Air Force is short 2,000 pilots, most of those unfilled billets being for fighter pilots.
China is increasing it's military budget, shrinking our relative advantage. Iran is applying increase pressure, and the DPRK has threatened to test its nuclear warheads in the atmosphere.
In other words, it hardly seems like the time to cut defense spending. What we need to do, however, is keep defense spending from increasing. This means focusing on essentials: Northeast Asia and the Persian Gulf. Europe needs to pull more of its own weight. Yes, Russia is quite frightening--which is all the more reason why Europe ought to be spending more on it's own defense.
We need to make the Pivot to Asia more than just a rhetorical shield for American absenteeism. The best way for America to save money is by embracing a strategy and stop winging it.
No comments:
Post a Comment