Five Think-Tanks Give Their Proposals On What The Pentagon Should Buy

The Pentagon, headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, taken from an airplane in January 2008. Wikipedia

Sydney J. Freedberg Jr., Breaking Defense: New Threats Spark DoD Spending Debate: Thinktanks Ponder $2 Trillion In Options

WASHINGTON: If you were hoping, after a bitterly contentious presidential campaign, that at least we’d have consensus on national defense spending…tough luck. Instead, teams from five leading thinktanks — spanning the political spectrum but all using the same budget simulator — came up with a more than $2 trillion spread of options. They debated their plans this morning (moderated by, well, me) at the Newseum.

Do you think we need an urgent buildup to counter Russia, China, and the Islamic State? That’ll be $1.3 trillion extra over the next 10 years, please, conservatives estimate. Would you rather save one trillion instead? Sure, libertarians say, but our allies will have to protect themselves. Or would you rather steer a middle course between the high- and low-cost options? Then get ready for tough choices on what parts of the military to modernize for a major-power war and which parts to keep cheap for day-to-day counterterrorism — what’s called a “high/low mix.”

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WNU Editor: $2 trillion .... now we are talking real money. But will a President Donald Trump or a President Hillary Clinton spend that type of money .... that is a different story.