We spend a lot of money on our national defense — necessarily. It’s a big part of our annual federal budgets, requiring a great deal of our people’s taxes. That’s because the security of our nation and our people depends upon our being more than ready to defeat any international threat.
We are and must remain the strongest, greatest and freest nation in the world.
We unfortunately are in two wars — in Iraq and in Afghanistan. That takes a lot of money. And the maintenance of our Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard to meet other threats is expensive. We must not have less than we really need — but we should not spend any more than is absolutely necessary.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said wisely and commendably that the Defense Department needs a top-to-bottom paring of unnecessary spending. He believes we could save as much as $10 billion a year, without weakening our defense.
Necessary defense is one thing. Wasteful bureaucracy that costs but does not make us stronger is another.
Secretary Gates wants a strong defense through good management. He’s right.
“The Defense Department must take a hard look at every aspect of how it is organized, staffed and operated — indeed, every aspect of how it does business,” Mr. Gates said.
War is a terrible thing. By its very nature, it is destructive and wasteful, in lives and material. A strong defense is necessary to prevent war if possible, or win it if necessary. We must spend whatever is really required. But we do not strengthen our nation or our defense by being wasteful.
We must maintain the soldiers, sailors and airmen we need. We must have all the ships, tanks, aircraft, guns, bombs, ammunition and the other complex parts of national defense that are really needed. It is far cheaper to have sufficient defense and prevent war than to fight it.
But there is no excuse for any spending that is merely bureaucratic and wasteful, “fat” rather than “sinew.”
So all Americans should applaud Secretary Gates’ call for “enough” defense but with elimination of “waste.” That’s the sensible and practical way for us to be really strong, both militarily and economically.