The United States is known for having a strong military devoted to the safety of our citizens, and this is one thing that should never be underfunded. Only the economically ignorant would argue that unnecessary spending on the best military in the world would be a blow to the economy.
Looking at the 17 powers granted to Congress in Article 1, six relate specifically to defense, and the Constitution gives Congress all means necessary to establish the defense of this nation. For those who take the Constitution seriously, the national defense is a higher priority than other areas of federal activity. Although other parts of the federal budget may make more headlines, spending on the national defense is vital.
Every category of international risk facing the U.S. is demonstrably growing. President Barack Obama decided to pull the U.S. into yet another Middle East war, and he wants to cut back spending? The U.S. has spent over $100 million on this new Libya fiasco. Can we focus on the war that we are already in before we enter another?
The strength of the U.S. military needs definite upkeeping. The Pentagon’s inventory of ships, aircraft and tracked vehicles is old and out of date technologically speaking. The Navy has not had this few of ships since 1916. The Air Force is as small as it was before Pearl Harbor. The Army needs to replace its inventory of combat vehicles. Once again, this takes funding.
Aggressive peer competitors are developing the military capacity to challenge the vital national interests of the United States. China, for example, is rearming at a rate far ahead of American intelligence predictions. The $80 billion the U.S. spends on military research and defense alone surpassed China’s entire military budget by more than $10 billion.
The U.S. spends as much on military as the rest of the world combined, but this spending is necessary to keep the U.S. ahead in security. The U.S. Navy recently discovered a new laser weapon that can penetrate up to several miles by focusing 15 kilowatts of energy through a solid. This is the first time a high powered laser has been put on a naval ship, so we are advancing.
U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says China’s rapidly developing defense capabilities are worrisome to the U.S.
China has made strides in building a new stealth fighter jet, and Washington is also concerned about a new ballistic missile that could theoretically explode an aircraft carrier nearly 2,000 miles out to sea. Although we may be spending a significant amount of money, the cause is clearly stated.
Other countries are passing us technologically, and we must keep up for the security of this nation. Of course military capability takes funding.
The protection of America should be our No. 1 priority. As former President Ronald Reagan once said, “Defense is not a budget issue. You spend what you need.” One cannot place a price on security.
