The recently released Congressional Research Service (CRS) report “A Historical Perspective on ‘Hollow Forces’” misses two important points in its analysis of the defense budget, impacts of the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011, and the usage of the term “hollow force.” First, the report does not even attempt to analyze impacts of the sequestration process under the BCA. Second, the report fails to address structural deficiencies within the Department of Defense’s budget itself. While the BCA imposes about $600 billion in cuts to a broadly defined defense category of … More
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According to press reports, the Philippines and the United States are exploring ways to expand U.S. military presence in the region, including increasing Navy port visits, increasing the size and frequency of military exercises, rotating maritime patrol aircraft, and possibly even rotating U.S. soldiers through Philippine military facilities. Philippine defense and foreign ministry officials met with their U.S. counterparts last week for the second Bilateral Strategic Dialogue to discuss various options, as they reaffirmed their commitment to the Manila Deliration in a joint statement. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and … More
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The Department of Defense’s recently released budget is based on a hope that the international environment has structurally changed and that the United States will never again face the obligation of fighting two major wars simultaneously, according to the most recent publication by the Defending Defense Coalition of the American Enterprise Institute, Foreign Policy Initiative, and The Heritage Foundation. As a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA), the military budget will be slashed by at least $487 billion the over the next 10 years. This is a … More
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In discussing the Department of Defense’s upcoming budget request, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta stated “our approach was to use this as an opportunity to maintain the strongest military in the world, to not hollow out the force.” In reality, America’s enemies will quickly determine that the United States will not be able to cover its responsibilities worldwide. The Secretary’s projections, which account for only preexisting Obama Administration cuts, include a reduction of Army ground forces from 562,000 to 490,000 troops—despite the fact that U.S. military readiness is already in a … More
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An increasing number of leaders in the House and the Senate recognize that the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 will impose a disproportionate burden on an already strained defense budget. The latest corrective effort comes from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R–VA). The BCA established caps on spending for national security and discretionary spending over the next 10 years. In addition, the law mandates a sequestration process that will apply $500 billion or more in deficit reduction to the defense account over the nine-year period covering FYs 2013–2021. These … More
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The Obama Administration is using a new buzzword when referring to its national security strategy: “reversibility.” In the most recent Defense Strategy Guidance, this term is described as “a key part of our decision calculus” and essentially states that the military will maintain a smaller force that can be built up rapidly to respond to national security threats. Rather than attempt to reverse dramatic defense budget cuts, the Administration seems to be creating the illusion of a responsible strategy that will not leave our future armed forces weakened and less … More
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As President Obama has hastily drawn down forces in Iraq and Afghanistan to meet arbitrary timelines, he has taken the opportunity to ramp up rhetoric on a strategic military shift to the Asia–Pacific region. He recently made it clear in the new defense strategy guidance that military focus will be directed toward emerging threats in the region and stressed that security needs will drive the budget, contrary to recent concerns that fiscal constraints have directed miserly defense spending. In spite of this rhetoric, the defense budget has been cut dramatically … More
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Supporters of Ron Paul have re-launched an old ad promoting the old idea of American isolationism. “We now are a nation known to start war,” Paul is quoted as saying. “We feel compelled because of our insecurity that we have to go over and attack these countries to maintain our empire.” The message here (and repeated elsewhere) is that Paul’s isolationism is aligned with the Founding Fathers and “what is truly American and truly constitutional.” Not only is this refrain a gross misrepresentation of American history but it offers dangerously … More
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President Barack Obama began the new year on a controversial footing by signing the highly disputed National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 (NDAA 2012) into law. Defense authorization bills are traditionally passed by Congress and signed with little controversy by the sitting President. But the NDAA 2012 has been the focus of particular rancor from often unlikely parties, and the signing statement written by President Obama, which was included with the bill as an informal addendum, is particularly troubling to those who value the integrity of our national defense strategy. … More
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President Obama’s new national defense strategy is a budget-driven exercise masquerading as a strategic plan, writes Heritage’s Kim Holmes, former Assistant Secretary of State, in The Washington Times. In trotting out the new strategy, President Obama said the “tide of war is receding.” Accordingly, U.S. forces will “no longer be sized to conduct large-scale, prolonged stability operations” (read: Iraq). But is the tide of war receding on the world stage? And how does he know that the U.S. will not need to engage in another “stability operation”? The Army shed … More
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