- THE COLD WAR IS OVER; THE SOVIET UNION IS NO MORE. The Pentagon must change to meet the new challenges we face. We do not need the massive military structure and excessive budget designed to confront a country that no longer exists. We cannot waste billions on bureaucratic inertia and pork barrel politics.
- DISORDER AND CONFLICT REQUIRE NEW APPROACHES. Ethnic and nationalist conflicts continue to spawn terrible human tragedies that imperil the security of U.S. allies and U.S. economic interests. The proliferation of conventional, nuclear, chemical, biological and other advanced weapons fuels regional arms races, and poses a direct threat to U.S. citizens and troops. These threats are better met or prevented through improved intelligence capabilities and multilateral and regional responses.
- USE SMART DIPLOMACY BEFORE SMART BOMBS. In this new era, the United States should emphasize non-military solutions — diplomatic negotiations, multilateral efforts, a strengthened United Nations, regional responses — to problems in North Korea, the Middle East and elsewhere.
- SIZE THE FORCE TO MEET THE THREAT. United States military needs should be met with well-trained and well-equipped forces tailored to the threats of today. Excessively large forces (designed for another era or for implausible scenarios) cannot be maintained at adequate levels of readiness. While the Bush and Clinton Administrations made reductions from Cold War force and spending levels, the Pentagon’s current plans are ill-conceived and over-loaded with excessive and expensive capabilities.
- INVEST IN UPGRADES, NOT NEW SYSTEMS. The Pentagon’s investment strategy is focused on a few big platform systems which may have little value in non-traditional operations. Many of these expensive weapons systems are Cold War relics designed to deal with a threat that no longer exists. Excessive spending on new weapons robs U.S. troops of crucial funds for readiness and training.
- MILITARY PORK IS JUST AS WASTEFUL AS DOMESTIC PORK. The Pentagon is the largest source of bureaucratic waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government. Military contractors and their protectors in Congress fuel wasteful military spending by promoting weapons as jobs programs and stuffing pork projects into districts and states. Congress should hold military projects to the same “pork accountability standard” as other government projects.
