Now Is The Time For The U.S. To Have A Debate On What Is It's Grand Strategy

(AFP Photo/Saul Loeb)

Christopher A. Preble, National Interest: The Real Culprit in Defense Spending: Strategic Hubris

Fighting waste, fraud and abuse, while popular, distracts from the real debate: U.S. grand strategy.

There is a wide and growing gap between what officials in Washington demand of the military and the resources made available to execute its missions. Fixing this problem is arguably the most important challenge facing the incoming Trump administration. Last month, Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work estimated that the current shortfall could be as much as $88 billion per year, and that is merely to cover current operations and planned procurement. “That doesn’t buy you an extra ship, that doesn’t buy you an extra airplane, that doesn’t buy you an extra soldier or sailor or airman or Marine,” he said. “That just gets you where you need to be, fills in the hole.”

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WNU Editor: A debate on what is the "U.S. grand strategy" is definitely long overdue.