US military spending compared with other nations (Data sources: SIPRI and IISS)US Defence Cuts Are Not About Saving Money – They Are About Changing America’s Strategic Role -- James Corum, The Telegraph
President Barack Obama has made it very clear that he is not in the least interested in getting American government spending under control. A month ago he urged Congress to pass a $1.2 trillion spending bill larded with tens of billions of dollars for projects for Democratic Party core constituencies. Luckily, Senate Republicans found enough backbone to stop Obama’s latest binge spending programme as Mr Obama criticized the Republicans for their rare exercise of spending discipline.
Now we have a new budget proposal by the President. He wants $78 billion in cuts in US military spending, with large cuts to current troop strength – 27,000 men for the Army and as many as 20,000 for the US Marine Corps. These cuts, along with the cuts Mr Obama has already made to the US Navy and Air Force – cuts in aircraft and ship strength – mean significantly less military capability for the United States and the Western world.
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My Comment: I can only hope that James Corum's analysis is wrong .... unfortunately, the evidence and recent government policy appears to strongly support his point of view.