For decades a school of American strategists has bewailed what they call the nation’s military “overreach” and urged a radical reduction in defense spending as good for world peace.
We are about to find out if they were right.
On the other side of the argument, proponents of a strong military noted that it is the U.S. military’s presence abroad, backed by strong reinforcements, that has put a lid on regional wars and kept the sea lanes open.
And that, in turn, has created peaceful conditions necessary for an historic expansion of world trade that has lifted billions out of poverty and kept the United States the world’s strongest economy.
We are also about to find out if they were wrong.
Naïve on the President’s part. Hard to imagine worse timing. Perfectly consistent with his original campaign strategy of apologizing for the USA’s leadership in the world.
Chuck Bradshaw+
Mityana, Uganda