Obama budget cuts left U .S. too weak to deal with multiple global menaces

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Constitution makes Donald Trump the commander-in-chief. But, the founding fathers assigned the responsibility of raising and maintaining a military to Congress. From Lincoln and Wilson to FDR and Reagan, every serious defense buildup has required bipartisan support from the Congress. Today, America’s armed forces need another jolt. So, once again, members of Congress must play their part to make sure our military can deliver enough punch to protect our homeland and our vital interests abroad.

Europe, Asia and the Middle East

There is only one reason why the lawmakers should invest more in the U.S. military: America is a global power with global interests and our military has be able to travel the globe to defend them. But the forces of instability are growing—especially in three parts of the world where regional peace and stability are particularly important to the U.S. The three critical regions are Europe, Asia and the Middle East, and the main forces threatening destabilization are Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and the transnational Islamist threat spearheaded by al Qaeda and ISIS. Individually, none of these powers rise to the level of menace posed by the old Soviet Union. But when one of these threats acts up, we cannot expect the others to stand down. Indeed, we can expect them to try to exploit the situation. For that reason, the U.S. must have the capacity to deal with all of them at once since together they could pose a global threat far greater than the old Soviet empire. And here we have a problem. While we need to be able to respond globally, the Pentagon no longer has a global-size force.

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The annual Index of U.S. Military Strength objectively measures the ability of our armed forces to protect vital national interests in a multi-conflict scenario. And that measurement shows that, in terms of capacity, capability and readiness, the military has been in noticeable decline for years. In 2017, the military’s overall ability to provide the hard power needed to prevail in a multi-conflict scenario was rated as “marginal.” Early assessments suggest no change in the downward trend. There are several reasons for the deteriorating assessments. Our competitors have become more aggressive and significantly beefed up their own military capabilities. Meanwhile, our allies—particularly those in Europe—have woefully under-invested in defense. But the biggest factor has been our own failure to reinvest in our increasingly strained military. The defense budget has been cut by 25 percent over the last five years. U.S. combat operations have declined from their peak in the Bush era, but contrary to President Obama’s claims, no wars have been ended. Meanwhile, other operational demands, such as increased deployments to Western Europe, have arisen.

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Yet, our military is markedly smaller than it was a decade ago. The Army is smaller than at any time since before World War II. The Navy and Air Force are at historically small levels, too. Readiness is another problem. Top brass have testified that only three of 58 army brigade combat teams are ready to fight; less than half of the air force is ready, and half of the navy’s aircraft are grounded for parts or maintenance. And budget cuts have dramatically reduced flight hours for pilots and other training essential to keeping our warriors sharp and safe. President Trump has proposed boosting the Pentagon’s budget, but his proposal is at least $30 billion short of what it needs to be. Far greater investment will be needed if we want to assure that America can remain a global power.