Posted by
stevo on Monday, May 28, 2007 3:12:49 PM
The rebuilding of the American military has received attention and advocacy from many of the current Republican presidential candidates--and rightly so. Improvement is needed with regard to both quality and quantity--not only because of the need to meet the threats of militant Islam, but as a general deterrant.
One of the greatest legacies of the Reagan Presidency was the ability to win the Cold War without firing a shot. While there were still isolated squirmishes, such as Afghanistan, where there was indirect conflict between the two powers, there was never a major clash. Reagan believed that our military could not only be used proactively, but as leverage to minimize and prevent potential conflicts.
In the same way, the US must only have the ability to "act large" but "be large." Just as protection from some animals requires people to present and even exaggerate their full stature, so the US must make clear that this country cannot be prayed upon.
This pertains not only to the threat of militant Islam. Historian Niall Ferguson recently predicted a return of Russia to its Soviet past using a relatively analogy to the pre-Hitler Weimar Republic. China has also been shown time and again to be arming itself to become the dominant power on Asia, employing the maxim of leaders past to bide its time until it is fully ready to battle. Meanwhile, Hugo Chavez is spreading his corrupting influence throughout Central and South America.
The US must rebuild its military--increasing its share of the GDP to 4%, modernizing its outdated equipment, and increasing its troop strength--in order to deter a number of rising threats. Meeting the militant Islamic threat is not sufficient, for the threats shouted in the Islamic world are also being whispered in Moscow, Beijing, and Caracas.