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 mong the many
extraordinary accomplishments of the young Bush administration is
the introduction of history's
longest week.
President Bush launched his campaign to promote the rebuilding of
America's military with a "National Security Week" that began with
his Saturday radio address on February 10th. He subsequently traveled
to units in Georgia, Virginia, and West Virginia where the contrast
with his universally disdained predecessor was palpable, and engendered
hugely positive responses.
This favorable reception from the armed forces was partly due, of
course, to Mr. Bush's announced plans to make good on campaign promises
involving additional pay, better housing and increased inducements
to reenlist. It was also a function, however, of a more intense
feeling among the troops: They perceive that this president —
unlike Bill Clinton — genuinely values the U.S. military, comprehends
the importance of using it properly and effectively and appreciates
that it must be recapitalized if it is to be ready, not only for
today's contingencies but to deter and, if necessary, to fight the
nation's future wars.
It now appears that National Security Week will not actually end
with yesterday's visit to the State Department or Friday, when Mr.
Bush makes his first foreign trip since assuming office to meet
with Vincente Fox in Mexico. Rather, this period of reconnecting
the nation's civilian leadership with those who carry out its security
policies seems likely to continue for another two weeks if, as expected,
the president participates in an important ceremony at Newport News
shipyard on March 4th: The christening of the Navy's newest nuclear-powered
aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan.
Mr. Bush would be joined on this occasion by former First Lady Nancy
Reagan, most of the senior members of the Reagan national-security
team, serving Navy and Defense Department officials, and some 25,000
other admirers of our 40th president. They will be witness to an
important moment in the construction of a ship that promises both
to pay a well-deserved tribute to the Reagan legacy of "peace through
strength" and to ensure that it is a living legacy well into the
21st Century.
(These themes will be the focus of an extraordinary event to be
held on the margins of the U.S.S. Reagan christening
| “The
Reagan is an important reminder of the continuity
that will, inevitably, characterize the Bush defense posture.” |
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under the sponsorship of the Center for Security Policy. It will
feature five of those who helped the President shape and implement
his foreign and defense policies: William J. Clark, Mr. Reagan's
national-security adviser; Edwin Meese, former counselor to the
president and attorney general; former U.N. Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick;
John Herrington, former secretary of energy; and James Webb, former
secretary of the Navy. The serving secretary of defense, Donald
Rumsfeld, has also been invited to participate. More information
about this event can be obtained by contacting the center at info@security-policy.org.)
The Reagan is an important reminder of the continuity that
will, inevitably, characterize the Bush defense posture. While there
is much talk about "transforming" the military, the reality is that
the aircraft carriers, planes and armored vehicles of today are
going to provide the backbone for the armed forces for a generation
to come. Obviously, shortfalls in the maintenance of those currently
in the inventory must be urgently addressed. Equally importantly,
weaponry reaching the end of its useful service life needs to be
promptly replaced with the most modern, reliable, and effective
systems we can field.
This step really cannot be "skipped," insofar as the defense procurement
that should have taken place during the 1990s largely did not. It
is prohibitively expensive to try to maintain aging and obsolescent
equipment for the decade or two until the "next generation" of military
hardware is available in quantity. Meanwhile, work needs to be done
in parallel to ensure that the armed forces of the more distant
future will have the benefit of the revolutionary capabilities that
will allow them to prevail in the conflicts to come.
This is the only orderly and responsible way to proceed; it ensures
that there is no dramatic decline in U.S. military capabilities
of the sort that has time and time again in the past invited the
sorts of wars that a more robust American defense posture might
have prevented. Unfortunately, all this cannot be accomplished on
the cheap. Even if the technologies that are predicted to revolutionize
warfare in the decade(s) to come actually live up to their advanced
billing (i.e., proving to be significantly less expensive and more
effective than those they will replace), it will take considerable
time and investment to bring them to fruition. When added to the
costs associated with maintaining today's forces and equipping those
that will have to provide for our security until the "Revolution
in Military Affairs" is accomplished, the annual increase in needed
defense spending is likely to be on the order of $100 billion more
per year.
During this extended National Security Week, Mr. Bush has successfully
communicated his positive attitude towards the military and his
commitment, in principle, to meeting their needs. Before it is finally
over, we must hope that he will have made something else equally
clear: Mr. Bush is determined to allocate the substantially increased
resources needed to enable the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan, those
who serve aboard her, and their counterparts throughout the armed
forces to ensure that the Reagan legacy of peace through strength
will be that of the 44th president as well.
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