{"id":1322,"date":"2013-09-04T06:18:08","date_gmt":"2013-09-04T10:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dougsbriefcase.com\/blog\/?p=1322"},"modified":"2016-12-10T08:31:26","modified_gmt":"2016-12-10T13:31:26","slug":"syria-budget-putting-money-morality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dougsbriefcase.com\/blog\/syria-budget-putting-money-morality\/","title":{"rendered":"Syria and the Budget: Putting Our Money Where Our Morality Is"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"credit<\/a>

The Pres\u00adi\u00addent delib\u00ader\u00adat\u00aded for weeks before decid\u00ading to ask Con\u00adgress for autho\u00adriza\u00adtion to attack Syr\u00adia. He\u2019s work\u00ading the phones to gath\u00ader votes but will his bud\u00adget pro\u00advide future Pres\u00adi\u00addents with the resources to car\u00adry out sim\u00adi\u00adlar actions? (Cred\u00adit: Telegraph)<\/p><\/div>\n

On August 14, the Sec\u00adre\u00adtary of the Army<\/a> gave his sub\u00ador\u00addi\u00adnates an order: pro\u00adduce a list of cuts that will reduce spend\u00ading by 25 percent.<\/p>\n

A week lat\u00ader, a chem\u00adi\u00adcal weapons attack near Dam\u00adas\u00adcus left an esti\u00admat\u00aded 1,429 dead<\/a>,<\/span>  mov\u00ading the Pres\u00adi\u00addent to ask the mil\u00adi\u00adtary to pre\u00adpare for a retal\u00adia\u00adto\u00adry strike against the Assad gov\u00adern\u00adment. Even a lim\u00adit\u00aded assault would cost hun\u00addreds of mil\u00adlions of dol\u00adlars<\/a>,<\/span> accord\u00ading to defense experts.<\/p>\n

The two events illus\u00adtrate the inter\u00adsec\u00adtion between what we thought would dom\u00adi\u00adnate Washington\u2019s atten\u00adtion dur\u00ading the first weeks of Sep\u00adtem\u00adber \u2013 fis\u00adcal pol\u00adi\u00adcy \u2013 with what actu\u00adal\u00adly will occu\u00adpy Con\u00adgress \u2013 a debate over whether to attack Syr\u00adia. The two are more close\u00adly relat\u00aded than we might think, rais\u00ading the ques\u00adtion of how much mon\u00adey we are will\u00ading to spend on shap\u00ading America\u2019s role in a chang\u00ading world.<\/p>\n

The Pres\u00adi\u00addent seems of two minds about this. He sin\u00adcere\u00adly believes that the U.S. must act in cas\u00ades where for\u00adeign gov\u00adern\u00adments behave immoral\u00adly, even if that means going it alone. But he also favors mas\u00adsive reduc\u00adtions in defense spend\u00ading that will impair his own capac\u00adi\u00adty and that of his suc\u00adces\u00adsors to act in the future.<\/p>\n

The Sec\u00adre\u00adtary of the Army\u2019s memo is blunt in ask\u00ading his staff for a list of cuts. The President\u2019s desire to roll back mil\u00adi\u00adtary spend\u00ading, cou\u00adpled with GOP<\/span> will\u00ading\u00adness to enforce across-the-board cuts in defense out\u00adlays, have cre\u00adat\u00aded a dire situation.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>Let there be no mis\u00adtake, aggre\u00adgate reduc\u00adtions WILL<\/span> TAKE<\/span> PLACE<\/span>. The mon\u00adey is gone; our mis\u00adsion now is to deter\u00admine how best to allo\u00adcate these cuts while main\u00adtain\u00ading readi\u00adness. We expect Army lead\u00aders, mil\u00adi\u00adtary and civil\u00adian, to seize this oppor\u00adtu\u00adni\u00adty to re-shape our Army.<\/strong> This effort will take PRIORITY<\/span> OVER<\/span> ALL<\/span> oth\u00ader Head\u00adquar\u00adters, Depart\u00adment of the Army activ\u00adi\u00adties.\u201d [Empha\u00adsis in orig\u00adi\u00adnal, show\u00ading that the cuts have not affect\u00aded the Army\u2019s CAPS<\/span> LOCK<\/span> or bold<\/strong> keys.]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although mil\u00adi\u00adtary lead\u00aders hope to \u201cmain\u00adtain[] readi\u00adness\u201d despite the fact that \u201cthe mon\u00adey is gone,\u201d the memo puts \u201creadi\u00adness\u201d on the chop\u00adping block, along with \u201coper\u00ada\u00adtional force struc\u00adture.\u201d Reshap\u00ading the Army may involve elim\u00adi\u00adnat\u00ading inef\u00adfi\u00adcien\u00adcies but it will also inevitably leave it weak\u00ader. It will shed mus\u00adcle along with the fat.<\/p>\n

That appears to be the President\u2019s inten\u00adtion. He has tak\u00aden a more dovish tone than his pre\u00adde\u00adces\u00adsor, pro\u00adclaim\u00ading last June in Berlin<\/a>,<\/span> \u201cWe must move beyond a mind\u00adset of per\u00adpet\u00adu\u00adal war.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bud\u00adget he sent Con\u00adgress ear\u00adli\u00ader this year seems to envi\u00adsion not only an end to per\u00adpet\u00adu\u00adal war, but a decade of unprece\u00addent\u00aded tran\u00adquil\u00adi\u00adty and peace. The Pres\u00adi\u00addent has asked Con\u00adgress for steep reduc\u00adtions in defense spend\u00ading as a per\u00adcent\u00adage of GDP<\/span> over the course of the next decade. These cuts, to be clear, are not the result of seques\u00adtra\u00adtion. They rep\u00adre\u00adsent the President\u2019s request to Con\u00adgress on mil\u00adi\u00adtary spend\u00ading. Such spend\u00ading has declined marked\u00adly over the course of decades, as the chart below shows.  [You can enlarge the chart by click\u00ading on it.]<\/p>\n

\"PowerPoint<\/a><\/p>\n

Defense spend\u00ading as a share of the econ\u00ado\u00admy has plunged by more than half <\/a>over the past 50 years, to its cur\u00adrent lev\u00adel of 4.2 per\u00adcent from 8.9 per\u00adcent in 1963. It fell sharply dur\u00ading the 1970s with the end of the Viet\u00adnam War, rose some\u00adwhat dur\u00ading the 1980s Rea\u00adgan defense buildup, then fell again dur\u00ading the 1990s with the end of the Cold War. Pres\u00adi\u00addent Bush\u2019s War on Ter\u00adror caused it to rise again, but it has declined since Pres\u00adi\u00addent Oba\u00adma took office, from 4.7 to 4.2 per\u00adcent of GDP<\/span>.<\/p>\n

If Pres\u00adi\u00addent Oba\u00adma has his way, mil\u00adi\u00adtary spend\u00ading as a share of GDP<\/span> will drop below 3 per\u00adcent in 2017 for the first time since before Pearl Har\u00adbor, then fall fur\u00adther, reach\u00ading 2.5 per\u00adcent in 2022<\/a>. While Pen\u00adta\u00adgon spend\u00ading will sink, the Pres\u00adi\u00addent wants over\u00adall gov\u00adern\u00adment spend\u00ading to remain robust, aver\u00adag\u00ading 22 per\u00adcent of GDP<\/span> over the 10-year peri\u00adod, some\u00adwhat high\u00ader than the aver\u00adage<\/a> over the pre\u00advi\u00adous 40 years.  Most of that spend\u00ading will be on pro\u00adgrams that trans\u00adfer mon\u00adey to indi\u00advid\u00adu\u00adals. In 2023, gov\u00adern\u00adment spend\u00ading on enti\u00adtle\u00adment pro\u00adgrams and debt ser\u00advice will togeth\u00ader con\u00adsti\u00adtute over 77 per\u00adcent of what the gov\u00adern\u00adment spends and con\u00adsume more than 85 per\u00adcent of the rev\u00adenues it col\u00adlects, if the Pres\u00adi\u00addent has his way.<\/p>\n

In short, Pres\u00adi\u00addent Oba\u00adma is bud\u00adget\u00ading for a new Aquar\u00adi\u00adan age, in which Amer\u00adi\u00adca remains serene\u00adly detached from world events.<\/p>\n

But while an iso\u00adla\u00adtion\u00adist Amer\u00adi\u00adca might suit Rand Paul just fine, it is very much at odds with the moral out\u00adrage that the Pres\u00adi\u00addent has expressed over Syr\u00adia. In his address on Sat\u00adur\u00adday announc\u00ading that he would seek Con\u00adgres\u00adsion\u00adal approval before strik\u00ading Syr\u00adia, the Pres\u00adi\u00addent said of the Assad regime, \u201cthis men\u00adace must be con\u00adfront\u00aded<\/a>.\u201d  Assad had per\u00adpe\u00adtrat\u00aded a \u201cmas\u00adsacre[],\u201d an \u201cassault on human dig\u00adni\u00adty,\u201d and made a \u201cmock\u00adery of the glob\u00adal pro\u00adhi\u00adbi\u00adtion on the use of chem\u00adi\u00adcal weapons\u201d; all of which may well be true.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span>We are the Unit\u00aded States of Amer\u00adi\u00adca,\u201d he said, \u201cand we can\u00adnot turn a blind eye to what hap\u00adpened in Damascus.\u201d<\/p>\n

We can, of course, and most often do, turn a blind eye to atroc\u00adi\u00adty. I\u2019m not sug\u00adgest\u00ading that\u2019s good or bad, mere\u00adly say\u00ading that it is an option in this case as it is in count\u00adless oth\u00aders. The world is full of tyrants who per\u00adpe\u00adtrate hor\u00adrors. Grant\u00aded, the Pres\u00adi\u00addent believes that Assad used chem\u00adi\u00adcals, but Syr\u00adia is among the hand\u00adful of states that has nei\u00adther signed nor acced\u00aded to the con\u00adven\u00adtion on poi\u00adson gas\u00ades<\/a>,<\/span> and the Pres\u00adi\u00addent seems strange\u00adly copacetic with Assad\u2019s use of more com\u00admon\u00adplace bru\u00adtal\u00adi\u00adty to kill 100,000<\/a> of his coun\u00adtry\u00admen. The Pres\u00adi\u00addent also men\u00adtioned \u201cthe cost of doing noth\u00ading,\u201d some\u00adthing he fre\u00adquent\u00adly does in oth\u00ader con\u00adtexts; there, as here, he does not item\u00adize those costs. Suf\u00adfice to say that it gen\u00ader\u00adal\u00adly costs less to avoid war than to wage it.<\/p>\n

I want to be clear that I\u2019m not ques\u00adtion\u00ading the President\u2019s judg\u00adment. If Assad per\u00adpe\u00adtrat\u00aded this atroc\u00adi\u00adty as the Pres\u00adi\u00addent believes, he has indeed com\u00admit\u00adted a heinous crime. It is appro\u00adpri\u00adate for the Pres\u00adi\u00addent ask Con\u00adgress to autho\u00adrize a mil\u00adi\u00adtary response. I just can\u2019t rec\u00adon\u00adcile the President\u2019s moral con\u00advic\u00adtion that the U.S. is respon\u00adsi\u00adble for enforc\u00ading inter\u00adna\u00adtion\u00adal norms with his bud\u00adgetary pro\u00adpos\u00adal that calls for mil\u00adi\u00adtary spend\u00ading to shriv\u00adel. We can\u2019t declare a nation\u00adal respon\u00adsi\u00adbil\u00adi\u00adty to right glob\u00adal wrongs while adopt\u00ading a bud\u00adget more con\u00adsis\u00adtent with 1930s isolationism.<\/p>\n

The President\u2019s rhetoric on Syr\u00adia is man\u00adly and moral. But enforc\u00ading moral\u00adi\u00adty can\u2019t be done on the cheap. We can be a peace\u00adful nation that \u201cturns a blind eye\u201d to far-away atroc\u00adi\u00adties. Or we can shoul\u00adder the oblig\u00ada\u00adtion to bring tyrants to heel. We just can\u2019t do both.<\/p>\n

Con\u00adgress will decide in com\u00ading weeks whether to give the Pres\u00adi\u00addent author\u00adi\u00adty to do what he thinks nec\u00ades\u00adsary in Syr\u00adia. That will be a deci\u00adsion of great sig\u00adnif\u00adi\u00adcance. But it may do less to deter\u00admine the role we will play in the world than sub\u00adse\u00adquent nego\u00adti\u00ada\u00adtions over the budget.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On August 14, the Sec\u00adre\u00adtary of the Army gave his sub\u00ador\u00addi\u00adnates an order: pro\u00adduce a list of cuts that will reduce spend\u00ading by 25 per\u00adcent. A week lat\u00ader, a chem\u00adi\u00adcal weapons attack near Dam\u00adas\u00adcus left an esti\u00admat\u00aded 1,429 dead,  mov\u00ading the \u2026 Con\u00adtin\u00adue read\u00ading \u2192<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1335,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","wp_typography_post_enhancements_disabled":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"nfd_image_url":"","nfd_onboarding_generated":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[398,17,158,159,441],"tags":[512,554,559,555,557,558,556,1190,278,553,203,1198],"class_list":["post-1322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arab-spring","category-entitlements","category-national-security","category-president-obama","category-syria","tag-assad","tag-budget-2","tag-chemical-weapons","tag-defense-spending","tag-entitlements-2","tag-isolationism","tag-perpetual-war","tag-president-obama","tag-rand-paul","tag-secretary-of-the-army","tag-sequestration-2","tag-syria"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t