By Robert Gard
February 27, 2014
Your Feb. 26 editorial “A Military Budget to Fit the Times” was bold and important.
The editorial laid out the reasons our inflated defense budget is having an inverse impact on our national security. As we continue to overspend for unneeded defense programs, we reduce our security by ballooning our national debt.
We need to maintain a strong national security posture, recognizing that the defense budget is only a part of it. Investments in defense programs must target 21st-century security threats, not those we faced during the Cold War.
Sadly, many current programs do little to address current and future security needs, but rather reflect the pressure of well-financed lobbyists or congressional pork. A smaller and smarter budget is the way forward.
ROBERT GARD
Arlington, Va., Feb. 26, 2014
The writer, a retired lieutenant general, is the chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and former president of National Defense University.
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