Obama Defense Cuts Profoundly Risky

COMMENTARY | The good news about the new Obama defense strategy, as reported by Reuters, is that it reorients American defense posture toward Asia and the Pacific. This is in response to the rising power of China and its drive to world dominance.

The bad news is that Obama proposes to slash defense spending by hundreds of billions of dollars and gut the size of the Army and the Marine Corps by tens of thousands of troops. The reduced defense budget does not seem to allow for the expansion of the Navy or the Air Force.

Indeed, the new strategy will be to allow the United States the capability to fight just one war at the same time while "--having the capability to deter the objectives of an adversary in a second conflict." If the United States lacks the troops and equipment to fight a second war, it is uncertain how that second objective can be achieved. If the United States is tied up in one conflict, a second enemy would be able to run wild unopposed.

Cutting defense has proven to be folly time and time again in American history. But with American troops still engaged in a shooting war in Afghanistan, with another war in the offing with Iran, and the rest of the world pretty much unsettled, the folly would seem to be even more grievous than usual. If the United States is obliged to go to war with a shrunken, unprepared military, the cost savings will be more than made up for with the expense of an emergency military buildup. It will also be paid for in the blood of young Americans who will be at the tip of the spear.

This is a risk, apparently, that Obama is prepared to take.

On the other hand, there might be a method to his madness. The idea may be that if the United States lacks the military to fight, then it will not get involved in any more conflicts like Afghanistan or Iraq, no matter how important they may be for the national security of the United States. Obama's model for future conflict may well be Libya, in which the United States Navy and Air Force provides a minimal amount of support, but indigenous people do most of the ground pounding.

It's a neat plan. But what if the United States is faced with a crisis that doesn't fit the Libya model? Then we will be in serious trouble.

The silver lining is that Obama has handed the Republican field a perfect issue. Let's see if Romney, Gingrich, Santorum, et al steps up and lets the president have it.

Source: New Pentagon defense strategy puts more focus on Asia, David Alexander and Phil Stewart, Reuters, Jan 5, 2011