THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 15, 1994 TAG: 9409150019
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
As President Clinton gears up for an invasion of Haiti, his defense budget is leading our armed forces back to the days of the so-called ``hollow force'' of the Carter Administration. At that time, problems of readiness and capability put the U.S. in a dangerous position of not being able to defend our interests, let alone play world policeman and humanitarian.
Some downsizing of the military was appropriate in the wake of the end of the Cold War. Defense spending was cut 17 percent in real terms under President Bush, and the cuts have only accelerated under President Clinton. Even some voices within the administration suggest the military needs $20 billion to $40 billion more to be able to fund current commitments.
Mr. Clinton's defense goal was to comply with former Defense Secretary Les Aspin's 1993 ``Bottoms-up Review,'' which stated the armed forces needed to be kept in the state where they could fight two regional conflicts of about the size of the Persian Gulf War, ``nearly simultaneously.'' Critics contend Clinton's budget is not adequate for our military to face even one conflict the size of the Persian Gulf War without dangerous risks.
The five-year defense budget projection totals $1.13 trillion in spending. For fiscal year 1995, which begins Oct. 1, $264 billion in spending is slated, an absolute decrease from this year's $271 billion. And the rate of cuts is slated to speed up in the next few years.
The result is F-14 Tomcats sitting in shrink wrap at Oceana because there is not enough money to fly them. Defense Secretary William Perry has ordered a halt in all new weapons acquisition because there is not enough cash. And defense contractors are being forced to merge with one another. Retaining skilled personnel in an environment of short-notice deployments is becoming a problem.
In the Carter years, the rest of the world took advantage of a weak U.S. If the Administration continues to ask the armed services to perform up to their exceptional standards on a shoestring budget, we can expect a return to a similar situation. by CNB