THE budget proposal that Donald Trump will send to Congress, proposing to boost the Pentagon’s spending by $54bn next year, is less transformative than the president appears to believe. As Senator John McCain, the chairman of the Senate armed services committee, swiftly pointed out, the 10% increase is only $19bn more than that forecast by the outgoing Obama administration (out of a total annual spend of close to $600bn).
Mr Trump’s conviction that this will ensure America wins its future wars, in contrast to the unsatisfactory outcomes in Iraq and Afghanistan, suggests a limited understanding of those conflicts. Few would argue that a lack of aircraft and ships were the problem. Moreover, in seeking ways to pay for a 350-ship navy, additional fighter planes and more troops for both the army and the marines, Mr Trump wants to slash spending on soft power. Cuts to the State Department’s budget and foreign-aid programmes would probably reduce America’s influence in the world and undermine attempts to make the world stable. The defence secretary, Jim Mattis, while giving testimony to Congress in 2013, warned: “If you don’t fund the State...Continue reading
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