We may just get a Defense Authorization bill out of this lame duck Congress, the question is whether that is a good thing. There is a bill in the Senate right now that has had many of the controversial measures that stalled it earlier removed, such as Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, funding for abortions on overseas bases and also the second engine for the F-35 aircraft.
The bill is very sparse when it comes to important issues though such as how many ships for the Navy and how many F-35 aircraft we will be buying. These major decisions are being left to the Appropriations Committee. We need to make sure that in the chaos currently enveloping Washington, our national security does not become a political bargaining chip. These major weapons systems are an easy target for short-sighted lawmakers who need money for their pet projects. But they need to realize that strategic planning means looking past the political crisis du jour.
You can’t just magic up a fleet of ships or squadrons of fighter aircraft when a national security crisis happens. I think it is pretty easy to look at North Korea, Iran, the Af/Pak theater, not to mention the Russians and the Chinese and see that the world is not getting any safer. Let’s make sure our elected representatives act like it.
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