What Does It Take To Defend The U.S.?

Photo from Harpers

40 Years Of Debt? -- ELP Defens(c)e Blog

So what does the U.S. need to effectively defend itself?

It depends if the U.S. wants to get back to following the Constitution when going to war. For example; the Iraq invasion of 2003 should have had the President ask for a declaration of war. And yes there are times when that isn’t practical.

Some of the policy the United States signs off on is just rock-bottom wrong. And while I wouldn’t agree with my Internet friend at 40 years in the Desert on an 85 percent cut on the military budget, he has some very valid points.

Read more ....

My Comment: Eric Palmer hits it on the nose with his analysis on how the U.S. budget crisis may impact the U.S. military budget .... analyzing on what is "really necessary" for the U.S. to defend itself.

As a Canadian citizen, I can probably give some perspective on this discussion. In the 1980s and early 1990s Canada ran up a budgetary deficit that was out of proportion of what it can afford. When the Liberals regained power in 1993 they instituted tax increases and program cuts to combating runaway spending, a program that became successful when budget surpluses returned .... and have been with us until this recent recession. Unfortunately, during this time the Canadian military was impacted on every level. The decision was made at the time to only buy the bare minimum, and maintain a force of professional soldiers who can reconstitute the Arm Forces when the government's fiscal house was sorted out.

It is only now that the Canadian Arm Forces is approaching a minimal level of force readiness and projection. While big purchase items will still need to be done .... the direction is the opposite of what the U.S. must face in the incoming years. Unfortunately for all of us, the Canadian Arm Forces are just a fraction of what the U.S. can field on any given day. And while Canada will still be protected under the U.S. umbrella, many other countries who have become complacent with U.S. protection may now start to live in a world where their Big Brother (i.e. the U.S.) will no longer be beside them.