There are already plenty of troubling signs. The Navy is talking about tying up ships because they don't have enough sailors. The Army has artillery and engineer battalions that haven't practiced firing cannons or breaching a minefield in a long time. The Air Force might well have just lost its service secretary and chief of staff, not because of their alleged failure to exercise leadership but because they chaffed at accepting unrealistic budget projections. Washington officials probably will use the same excuses they did after Vietnam to justify reneging on their obligation to "provide for the common defense." They will argue that they can spend less on defense because they're so smart. They know exactly what the future holds, what the threats will be, how to handle them - and, miraculously, the cost of this defense will be exactly the paltry amount of money they're willing to spend.

Why is it that after every war people forget the main lesson of war? Naked brute force is respected all over the world. It is a law of nature only the strong survive. Isn't this also a law of international politics? The strongest nation that is willing to use force to achieve it's objectives is the one respected. No one respects the nation that wants to empathize with their enemy or understand why they were attacked. That nation ultimately is attacked again and again as their enemies perceive them as weak. Didn't one of our Presidents say "Speak softly but carry a big stick"? We must be a nation of peace but one willing to back up our moral obligation to do the right thing. Should we be considering downsizing our military at a time like this? Or shifting the responsibilities of the military to civilians with no training?

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