Defense spending.
We should be looking strategically at the role of the US in the world, especially in Europe. We spend a fortune providing security to what has become a very stable and interconnected region. Our investment in Europe should be reconsidered in light of our economic problems. We won’t be able to withdraw from Korea for obvious reasons, nor should we scale back our naval power as we need to continue to protect shipping routes for secure and reliable global trade. If we really want to stop deficit spending now, we have to look for the opportunities to cut in the short term as well as the painful and necessary long-term reforms in entitlements, and that means the Pentagon is going to have to share the load.
I generally love Mr. Morrisey's stuff. But he's begging the question in the italicized sections of that post.
Why is our requirement to protect South Korea so "obvious" ? Why is it our job to protect shipping lanes?
1) Did it work out well for us the first time we helped the Koreans with a war? How about Viet Nam? Serbia? (Plus, how is it going in Iraq and Afghanistan?)
2) Do people all over the world love us and appreciate our military in their countries?
3) Would we respond well to, say, a little ol' Mexican military installation in Dallas (so Mexico could protect its investments and trading partner?)
4) Is trade a two-way exchange? If we're trading with Japan, isn't it time for them to start doing some of their own protection? Does it not take Take Two To Tango?
5) Do we have plenty of money to spend on this? Or are we going into debt ?
6) Name the countries that Mr. Morrisey is concerned about shutting down the Pacific trade lanes, or with attacking South Korea....Ok, there's North Korea and then there's China. How much defense spending are we funding with money borrowed from....China ?
7) Could we cut defense spending in half if we stayed out of everyone else's business, stopped looking for insults to our honor, and protected our own borders and no one else's ?
8) When we declare defense spending to be "off the table", are we stark, raving mad ?
