Sunday Dialogue: Ideas for Cutting Military Spending

New York Times, November 10, 2011 | Letter

Mr. Korb cites key areas of the defense budget that could be cut or eliminated, but he doesn’t go far enough. National missile defense doesn’t work, but it is one of the most expensive procurement items in the budget. Mr. Korb favors military personnel cuts in Europe, but what about Asia, where our long-range strike capabilities obviate the need for 80,000 troops?

There is no other navy that could challenge the United States Navy, so we could retire 50 ships and scrap current plans to build up to a fleet of more than 300. The Marines, who haven’t conducted an amphibious assault for more than 60 years, don’t need a new Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle and should scrap the troubled Osprey helicopter.

Earlier this year former Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said, “A smaller military, no matter how superb, will be able to go fewer places and be able do fewer things.” He meant that as a warning; actually, it is a blessing.

MELVIN A. GOODMAN
Bethesda, Md., Nov. 10, 2011

The writer, a former C.I.A. analyst, is a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy and the author of the forthcoming “The Threat of U.S. Militarism.”