US and EU Defense Cuts Shortsighted and Dangerous

Today, France celebrated its national holiday with a three-hour military parade down the Champs Elysée. Impressive. But at the same time, French President Hollande acknowledged during the traditional 14th of July president's news conference that the French military budget has fallen from its 1960s high of 5.44% of Gross Domestic Product to a low of 1.5% of GDP today. In May, French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian wrote to President Hollande to express his grave concerns about defense budget cuts. The military heads of the French services offered to resign in support for Le Drian. The letter sets out concerns over military training, poor state of buildings, paying bills on time, hurting labor and postponing key equipment orders to 2016. These difficulties would arise during overseas campaigns in Mali and the Central African Republic. Approximately €7 billion of equipment contracts planned for 2014 and 2015 would be delayed, which would have “disastrous industrial consequences,” Le Drian said. Thousands of jobs and critical know-how would be lost in the vehicle, shipbuilding and aerospace industries. The 2014 to 2018 French defense budget is estimated at €190 billion, or €31.4 billion per year, but the French defense budget is second only to the education budget. ~~~~~ Great Britain’s defense spending will soon fall below the 2% of GDP target set by NATO, according to an analysis commissioned by senior military personnel. The Financial Times reports that the UK’s military expenditure will hit 1.9% of GDP by 2017, below NATO’s target of 2%. The analysis has been commissioned from within the British armed forces and will be used to bolster the case made by many of their senior members that cuts in the defense budget will endanger the close UK-US military partnership. Britain and the US are the only members of NATO to meet the 2% target and senior military experts in the US have already expressed concern about the pace and scale of British defense cuts, among them former US Defense Secretary Robert Gates. To cover some of the shortfall, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced today an additional 1.1 billion Pounds from last year's defense budget surplus will be put into defense. ~~~~~ The United States accounts for 35% of the world's defense spending. This is well above the combined 25% of the next five countries (China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, France, Japan). But the US is joining other western allies in defense spending cutbacks - at a time when rogue nations such as China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran are significantly boosting military spending on equipment, armed forces and investments in sophisticated systems such as cruise and ballistic missile programs, a threat that a US defense missile defense system is specifically meant to detect. The caveat. The budget for the US system is one of the programs whose budget is being reduced. In addition, US troop cutbacks are ongoing and have caused military experts, both civilian and in the armed services, to warn that the US may no longer be able to handle crises on two fronts. ~~~~~ Dear readers, the most worrisome part of this scenario is that terrorist attacks have risen 170% between 2006 and 2012. This increase doesn't even include the takeover of the rebel front by ISIL in Syria or their incursion into Iraq. Nor does it include the renewed Taliban attacks in Afghanistan or the renewed terrorist presence in Libya, Mali, Kenya, Nigeria or Egypt. When Nikita Khruschev told the West in 1956, "We will bury you," the West, already forewarned by USSR takeovers in eastern Europe, took heed. From Eisenhower to Reagan, America led the free world to victory over communist socialism. And, ever since September 11, 2001, al-Qaida and its spinoffs such as ISIL, have been warning Europe and America that they are advancing toward us. I just hope the budget cutters of the western world are thinking about this as they go about slashing defense budgets and announcing troop cuts. It was that mentality that delivered Europe into Hitler's hands before Winston Churchill insisted on gearing up to defeat him. We do not want another World War - this time with islamist jihadist terrorists led by Iran and supplied by Mr. Putin. Think about it.