Let me note that the new national defense strategy along with the new defense budget that escapes the damaging constraints of sequestration are the functional end of the "10-year rule" the Obama administration adopted in early 2009 that assumed America would not need to fight any wars and so didn't need to waste money on keeping the military ready for any major fight.
The depths that our military reached in readiness is truly sobering.
Leading from behind didn't save us from needing to spend on defense; and the Russians, Chinese, Iranians, and North Koreans did not respond to our assumption about not needing to fight a war as an invitation to peace but as an opening to seize advantage.
Let's hope we restore our ability to deter aggression and prevent war rather than look at this as a late step in an inter-war period that at best was done in time to avert disaster in a war.
About Me
- Brian J. Dunn
- I live and write in Ann Arbor, Michigan. University of Michigan AB and MA from Eastern Michigan University. One term in the Michigan Army National Guard. Former American history instructor and retired nonpartisan research analyst. I write on Blogger and Substack. Various military and private journals have published my occasional articles on military subjects. See "My Published Works" on the TDR web version or under the mobile version drop-down menu for citations and links.
