Defense Spending

To whom it may concern,

Yes, the F-22 Raptor is the most awesome fighter jet ever. But not a single one of them has flown a mission in Iraq or Afghanistan. And the new MVRAPS are absolutely five years past due and increasingly irrelevant as the United States prepares to pull out of Iraq and leave its plethora of IEDs behind. Defense spending has certainly gone out of control since the War on Terror began. In fact, one could argue that it has been out of control since the end of World War II. On the final days of his administration, President Eisenhower infamously warned this nation about the military industrial complex. It is the influence and magnitude of this economic sector that requires a significant overhaul. And under the direction of President Obama, Secretary Robert Gates is conducting a comprehensive review of defense spending. While the cuts are minimal compared to the overall defense budget, the push back from Congress seems disproportional. If anything, the defense budget should be the place where meaningful cuts can occur in this current fiscal crisis. This review should focus on reigning in wasteful spending, eliminating unnecessary projects, and creating a military that maintains superiority across the world in terms of both conventional and unconventional warfare. So, why are these cuts not deeper and more comprehensive? And will this new defense budget represent the needs of the 21st Century American military?

GUNNAR HAND, AICP