Gutting the U

Americans breathed a sigh of relief when the former Soviet Union collapsed, supposedly taking the threat of World War III with it. We all looked forward to the "peace dividend" that has, in part, fueled the economic boom the U.S. has experienced this decade.

But, at what cost? On August 2nd, retired Rear Admiral Thomas H. Moorer wrote in the New American that "I have been honored to serve as this nation’s commander in chief of the Pacific Fleet, commander in chief of the Atlantic and the Atlantic Fleet, Chief of Naval Operations, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. I truly cannot remember a time when I have been more concerned about the security of our country."

Admiral Moorer’s deep concerns center on a possible nuclear war between India and Pakistan, and the possible takeover of South Korea by North Korea. Japan may even be at risk. But the greatest danger is from China as it seeks to take Taiwan back and challenge U.S. superiority. All at a time when the U.S. military is already stretched to its limits, a victim of downsizing by a scandal-mired president who squanders its resources by using it as his own personal swat team to advance the global agenda.

The U.S. has become a hollow giant. The use of smart bombs in the illegal bombing of Kosovo and Serbia last spring may have appeared impressive, but even that limited mission stretched U.S. forces.

The ability of the U.S. to supply its military is so bad that ships and planes have parts cannibalized as they dock or land and reinstalled on their replacements before they can deploy or take off. Moral is very low.

Since its peak in 1989, military spending has been reduced by nearly 100 billion dollars annually, while at the same time expanding military commitments. Since 1992, the Clinton Administration has cut 709,000 regular (active duty) service personnel; 293,000 reserve troops; eight standing Army divisions; 20 Air Force and Navy air wings with 2,000 combat aircraft; 232 strategic bombers; 13 strategic ballistic missile submarines with 3,114 nuclear war heads on 232 missiles; 500 ICBMs with 1,950 warheads; four aircraft carriers and 121 surface combat ships and submarines.

Even so, the U.S. still has the most advanced military force in the world today. But not for long. Al Santoli, a senior foreign policy analyst for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) told WorldNetDaily on April 9th, that "Wars are won years before they are actually fought. Right now, countries like Russia, Syria, China, Iran, and North Korea have been vastly increasing their military expenditures and capability solely to challenge American hegemony..."

Santoli, who is the editor of the American Foreign Policy Council’s China Reform Monitor, also notes that "China has increased their military budget in the double digits each of the past eleven years." Similarly, Russia has been putting more money into upgrading its own missile forces, recently deploying ten new Topol-M nuclear-tipped ICBMs. Russia is developing new "laser programs and building new submarines," said Santoli.

Kenneth Timmerman shared similar concerns in a May 19th, CBN News interview, "we have been neglecting our own security interests.... I think the possibility of a larger war is very, very real and it’s something that we need to face head-on." Timmerman is a Middle East Analyst.

At the same time, Representative Floyd Spence, Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, warns, "Aside from thousands of our military being cut back, along with equipment being worn out, we’re cannibalizing the aircraft. There are now three people doing the work of five." On January 29th, CBN reported military resupply is so bad that "the commander of the Navy’s Third Fleet admitted that spare parts were cannibalized—stripped from ships returning to port with the Kitty Hawk so the aircraft carrier Constellation could be deployed. One pilot says parts were even stripped from planes before returning pilots could exit their aircraft."

Twenty year veteran pilot, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Jerry Burns, told CBN News on May 19th, that the USS Eisenhower was 450 to 500 sailors short last year, especially in critical areas. He claims there were "so few qualified air traffic controllers...that we couldn’t man the air traffic control center for 24 hours a day."

Military moral is at an all time low, affecting all branches of the military. General Thomas Schwartz, commander of U.S. Army Forces Command, told the Military Readiness Subcommittee of the House Committee on Armed Services on March 22nd, "Our soldiers...repeatedly tell us that they choose to leave the Army because they cannot raise their family and be constantly deployed."

Congress has approved a 4.8 percent pay raise for the military. But that will not persuade those in the military to stay when they are being run into the ground, given worn out equipment to use and called on to fight "peacekeeping" wars at the whim of the "international community."

Our military is rapidly becoming vulnerable, and our numerous enemies know it. If our enemies decide to test our resolve, it will likely result in political instability. Especially if weapons of mass destruction are used on U.S. soil, as now seems likely. Should that happen, we can expect our leaders to offer only one solution—join together in global governance to ostensibly stop the very madness these global elitists have created. V mc