United States Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, embraces a Georgian soldier during an official welcoming ceremony in Tbilisi on Sunday. Hagel is in a state visit in Georgia, a country that has sought membership in NATO, and that “shares our concerns about Russia’s actions in Ukraine,” Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby said. (Vano Shlamov, AFP/Getty Images)
Re: “Raise U.S. defense spending now,” Sept. 8 Robert J. Samuelson column.
What does Robert J. Samuelson propose spending this increased defense funding on? New weapons systems? Don’t we already have weapons systems the military doesn’t want or need and that Congress will not cut because they might lose their seats? Manpower? We have enough. Downsizing is taking place.
Will Samuelson get behind tax increases needed to fund new defense spending? What programs will he cut to support his position of increased military spending?
Here’s a suggestion for Samuelson: Ask the joint chiefs of staff what five weapons systems they want cancelled/eliminated in each service and publish that list by state and the economic impact. Hint: Letap start with the C27J cargo plane that is going directly from the production line to storage.
Gary Casimir, Colorado Springs
This letter was published in the Sept. 10 edition.So, which of the military/industrial complex corporations has Robert J. Samuelson in their pockets? We are not about to go to war with either Russia or China. We are certainly adequately armed and strategically positioned to defeat North Korea if need be. All other major powers of the world are our allies.
Current threats to our security are not major military powers but rather para-military terrorist organizations — e.g., al-Qaeda, Boko Haram and the Islamic State. So what justification for major increased spending does Samuelson offer?
While I loathe the self-interested meddling of Vladimir Putin with Russia’s next-door neighbor, Ukraine, where is our standing to condemn, given our invasion of Iraq in order to overthrow a leader we once liked but who lost our favor and to control the country’s oil?
Is blanket military spending to benefit a few more important than the health and welfare of the many American citizens receiving Social Security retirement and Medicare benefits? Not to me.
Bill Starks, Arvada
This letter was published in the Sept. 10 edition.
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