Last week, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates announced new budget priorties for the Pentagon. In the face of a resurgent Russia, and despite China’s determination to expand its navy, Secretary Gates proposes to keep military spending at only about four percent of GDP—and to focus almost exclusively on counter-insurgency, permitting our conventional capacity to wither.

Today on Uncommon Knowledge, I ask General Jack Keane his own views on our force structure.

General Keane’s response?

The American people have the right to ask a question. Why can’t we do this war [against terrorists] and also be ready for a conventional war? The problem is the ground forces are too small. We dug deep into the muscle when we cut back almost 40 percent after the dissolution of the Soviet Union…These ground forces are just too small.

Click here – and hope that Secretary Gates does the same.