THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 27, 1994 TAG: 9410270006
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A20 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
Columnist Robert Novak's ``Cutting too close to the bone'' (Perspectives, Oct. 14) hit the nail on the head. Recent defense cuts by Presidents Bush and Clinton are dangerously close to depriving the United States of resources vital to protect its world interests.
Look at some of today's international hot spots:
Bosnian Serbs hijack United Nations medical convoys at will; rampage, loot and kill as it fits their declared goal of ethnic cleansing.
Rawanda and a few other African nations are anything but quiet, peace-loving entities.
The mid-East, even with recent successes on the peace front, remains a tinderbox, ready to ignite into expenditures of U.S. uniformed men and women, material and wealth.
Saddam Hussein is Saddam Hussein and will continue to create mischief until his last breath; mischief probably requiring U.S. intervention.
Haiti, for all the good news, is not yet a viable democracy. Nor is it likely to grow into one, unless thousands and thousands of our men and women in uniform remain in-country, armed and ready to police the peace.
And Somalia still boasts warlord rule, the same government that required U.S. troops to spill their blood a few years ago.
I cannot believe that President Clinton fails to see the urgent need for a strong defense. He should start now to reverse the Democratic and Republican defense policies which daily tear away at the fabric of national security.
But perhaps Mr. Clinton does know what he is doing. Perhaps his policies that rob Peter (defense) to pay Paul (social programs, domestic and foreign) are in the best interest of his national goals.
In that case, the United States needs to get on with a congressional look-see at Clinton's possible malfeasance of office.
BILLY M. VAUGHN
Southern Shores, N.C., Oct. 18, 1994 by CNB