| With the elections over, Congress and the White House already
preparing their agendas for the coming year, and the fiscal year 1999 defense
authorization and appropriations bills (as well as the last-minute omnibus appropriations
bill) passed and signed into law by the president, it is time for a summing up: a brief
review of the year past, and a clouded crystal-ball look at what to expect in the year
ahead.
In the field of national defense there
was little to cheer about. But there also were no major disasters, and there are, in fact,
a few bright spots on the horizon. India and Pakistan moved closer to joining the short
but expanding list of global nuclear powers. A greater concern, though, was North Korea's
arrogant launch of a long-range Taepo Dong-1 missile over the sovereign territory of
Japan. Pyongyang's flouting of world opinion was trumped several times, however, by Saddam
Hussein's refusal to allow any further U.N. inspections of Iraqi facilities that could be
used for the production and/or storage of weapons of mass destruction.
In both situations the U.S.
response was the same--a repetition of strongly worded warnings that had been issued many
times previously (to no avail). But, as of mid-November, no action. Regrettably, U.S.
fulminations and vacillation provided an easy shield for the other nations of the Free
World, few if any of which were willing to advocate stronger measures. Moreover, except
for Kuwait, the Mideast nations most directly threatened by Iraq refused even to consider
overt military operations against Baghdad.
The United States did respond,
though, to the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania by launching Tomahawk
strikes against terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and a pharmaceutical plant in
Sudan that was believed to have been used in the manufacture of chemical weapons. The jury
is still out, unfortunately, on the wisdom and/or long-term effectiveness of those
strikes. One small lesson might have been learned, though: Those who directly threaten the
lives of American citizens and/or vital U.S. interests overseas put themselves in Harm's
Way as well. Sometimes.
In short, it was not a good year for U.S.
diplomacy. Or for American prestige around the world.
These embarrassments and setbacks were
counterbalanced and to some degree offset by the continued deterrent presence provided by
forward-deployed U.S. forces, who helped maintain the increasingly precarious world peace
that, except for a few mostly local conflicts, has continued since the end of the Gulf
War. The strain on America's armed forces became more visible, though. And, thanks to the
unrelenting operations tempo, and continued cutbacks in defense spending, short- and
long-term recruiting and retention problems have dramatically increased.
Which is where the "bright
spots" alluded to earlier come into play. More and more members of Congress, led by
Rep. Floyd Spence (R-S.C.) in the House and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the Senate, are
now sounding the alarm about the deterioration of U.S. readiness and the need for
immediate, and massive, infusions of additional funds into the procurement and RDT&E
"investment" accounts. Military issues were at best a minor blip on the screen
in the November elections, but may get greater attention, from Congress and the American
people, in the next two years. The groundwork was laid in the 29 September SASC (Senate
Armed Services Committee) hearings when the joint chiefs testified--more candidly and in
much greater detail than they had in the past several years--about the escalating
personnel, readiness, and equipment problems that threaten to create a new "hollow
force" by the turn of the century.
Another hopeful sign is the creation of
the Boren-Rudman National Security Commission, which is charged with reviewing the total
spectrum of national-security threats facing the United States in the first quarter of the
next century. If the commission does its work conscientiously and issues an honest report,
the cause of peace will be well-served.
In conclusion, let me state that
the Navy League and other patriotic organizations have their work cut out for them. U.S.
defense capabilities have been declining for far too long, and the time available for
remedial action is far too short. Our mission is education, and it is up to all of us to
carry out that mission as well as the men and women in our armed forces carry out all of
their missions: 24 hours a day, every day, every week of the year.
|
