![]() Neither of those astronomical figures is likely to be implemented soon, but that they’re being talked about at all is indicative of where the Washington debate on Pentagon spending is heading in the wake of the Ukraine disaster.Įx-government officials are pressing for similarly staggering military budgets. That would translate into a proposed annual defense budget of perhaps $1.6 trillion. ![]() He even suggested that Congress “could go so far as to double its defense spending” without straining our resources. Rich Lowry, the editor of the conservative National Review, is advocating a trillion-dollar military budget, while Matthew Kroenig of the Atlantic Council called for the United States to prepare to win simultaneous wars against Russia and China. Some supporters of higher Pentagon spending have, in fact, been promoting figures as awe inspiring as they are absurd. ![]() Of course, that’s anything but what the advocates of such military outlays had in mind, even before the present crisis. Here’s the irony: going back to Cold War levels of Pentagon funding would mean reducing, not increasing spending. Even before the invasion of Ukraine began, the Biden administration’s proposed Pentagon budget (as well as related work like nuclear-warhead development at the Department of Energy) was already guaranteed to soar even higher than that, perhaps to $800 billion or more for 2023. ![]() If so, that means trillions of additional dollars for the Pentagon in the years to come coupled with a more aggressive military posture in every corner of the world.īefore this country succumbs to calls for a return to Cold War-style Pentagon spending, it’s important to note that the United States is already spending substantially more than it did at the height of the Korean and Vietnam Wars or, in fact, any other moment in that first Cold War. ![]() A growing chorus of pundits and policymakers has suggested that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine marks the beginning of a new Cold War. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |