The Washington Examiner reports today that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has announced that the military will be closing the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk–with the loss of at least 5,000 jobs–and also begin making drastic cuts to overall defense expenditures. One proposal in particular: cutting contractor budgets by 10 percent will hurt Northern Virginia especially hard. With the nation still at war and the economy in dire straits, this announcement is not only bad for Virginia, but bad for national security.
America derives its safety from a worldwide forward projection of military strength. The Roman and British Empires started to crumble as soon as their armies retreated from distant provinces after an embarrassing defeat or two. When those Empires could no longer bear the expense of blood and treasure to maintain their military power, the decline of their society, their laws, and everything else followed soon after.
The Obama Administration is cravenly rejecting this lesson of history in order to score a few political points with the more radical elements of the liberal base. Drawing down troops in Iraq and Afghanistan while the situation is still very precarious may get them a few extra votes in November from the anti-war crowd, but at what cost?
How are our troops to maintain what precious little advantage they have if defense contractors here in Virginia and elsewhere cannot supply them with the most advanced and innovative weaponry and infrastructure possible? Our troops are already hugely outnumbered, and as we send more troops home, the situation will only be exacerbated. Without the technological edge, the smaller number of remaining troops will be at best ineffective.
Because of their importance, defense programs are sometimes a favorite way for congressmen like John Murtha to enrich their home districts. When money is being wasted on pet project which do not benefit national security, the money should be directed to more worthwhile programs. However, one has to wonder why the Obama Administration has decided to cut defense spending now, when America is still engaged in two wars.
To be fair, despite the fashionable doctrine of “stimulus” in Washington these days, military spending–like any government spending–does not help the economy. Whatever boost military spending might have, it only lasts until the war is over. Every major war in this country has been followed by a time of economic turmoil and recovery before post-war prosperity set in. However, Obama has chosen to kick off that post-war period of uncertainty at a time when the economy is at its most delicate.
Although, military spending is not necessarily better than any form of government largesse, the build-up which began after September 11 was unavoidable in a way which dumping federal taxpayer dollars into state and local public service employees’ pensions for purely political considerations is not. With military spending, we had to catch the tiger by its tail in order to preserve the nation, but it is also our decision when to let it go.
