UK Lessons For America’s QDR

Photo: Pallbearers carry the casket of Cpl. Matthew McCully during a repatriation ceremony in Trenton, Ont., on May 28, 2007. McCully is one of more than 100 Canadian soldiers killed since the Afghan mission began in 2002. (Jonathan Hayward/Canadian Press)

From New Wars:

The American Quadrennial Defense Review, due this coming Monday will likely reemphasize how Defense spending today is so politicized. Long past the demise of the Soviet Union, US politicians have joined with the Pentagon in keeping Cold war era weapons systems or their type in production for some 20 years. This is all the more amazing in that for the past decade, these needlessly expensive programs have been ongoing while we have been fighting another type enemy on two fronts, where the high tech conventional platforms have been superseded by less costly but equally effective hybrid equipment.

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My Comment: I completely agree with this post .... in particular the following ....

One place where the advocates of Big Wars and Small Wars are meeting on common ground are shrinking budgets and growing deficits. Right and Left, despite ongoing divergent rhetoric that one is less concerned over defense issues than the other, will soon be forced to deal with dramatic changes in spending which will do what a new World War has failed to bring about, and the QDR probably will fail to do: end Cold War era procurement policies.

UK is not the only country that can give lessons for America's QDR. Canada fits this description perfectly. Under both Conservative and Liberal Governments, Canada has cut its military budget to the bone .... abdicating and/or canceling big budget programs for the simple reason that they either served no strategic value for Canada and/or were just too expensive.

My prediction .... the US will also follow this course, but probably not as drastic as it has been for Canada.