4th District: Randy Forbes - Richmond Times-Dispatch

In police colloquialism, they are called "the usual suspects" -- the ones rounded up to solve the crime as quickly as possible. In the classic film "Casablanca," the usual suspects are the scapegoats, the ones rounded up while the actual criminal gets away.

And in federal government, the usual suspects are both: the quick-fix and the scapegoat. Facing a bloated national debt, this administration has finally called for some spending cuts. Yet, it has targeted only one agency -- the usual suspect: the Department of Defense.

As a result, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has announced that $100 billion of national security investment is on the administration's chopping block. That is no small "efficiency initiative." It is a nearly 20 percent cut to the DoD's 2009 base budget. It will surely touch every rung of our national defense efforts.

We are seeing the effects right here in Virginia. Gates' unprecedented announcement this summer to shutter the U.S. Joint Forces Command in Virginia reverses a 25-year course toward jointness, eliminates tens of thousands of jobs in the commonwealth, reprograms millions of defense dollars, and transfers 1.1 million service members and personnel to another command. Sadly, it will account for less than half a percent toward the $100 billion cuts coming to our military.

But it is not just the impact on Virginia that is concerning. These efficiency announcements have shown manifest disregard for the planning that should mark wide-ranging decisions that affect American security. They've shown that the only place this administration will cut is national security. The Defense Department has cloaked its "efficiency" decisions in secrecy, arrogantly refused to provide information on decision-making, and instituted gag-orders to bar discussions on the national risk these cuts pose.

Perhaps the reason for this cloak of secrecy is so the administration can more easily saddle its social-spending binge on the backs of our military. Consider the following: The total cost of the 2009 stimulus was nine times greater than this 20 percent defense cut. The funds authorized for the Wall Street bailout were seven times greater than these cuts. The estimated cost of Obamacare is five-and-a-half times greater than these defense cuts.

While we may not know certainly the motive of the administration's secrecy, we do know this: The Administration has tapped out our national debt and backed itself into a fiscal corner, leaving no option but to cut. The DoD is the single entity on the cut list.

Where is Secretary Hilda Solis announcing efficiency initiatives at the Labor Department? Its spending has increased 256 percent over two years, compared to the DoD's 16 percent. Where is Secretary Gary Locke announcing efficiencies within the Commerce Department? Its spending has increased 116 percent in two years.

Where is Secretary Steven Chu announcing efficiencies within the Energy Department? Its spending has increased 79 percent in two years. Where is Administrator Lisa Jackson announcing efficiencies within the Environmental Protection Agency? In two years, its spending has increased at twice the rate of the DoD.

Americans ought to have concern for our nation's security future. With no cuts being made elsewhere, we are allowing our domestic wants, rather than defense needs, to determine defense spending. This is a dangerous formula.

China can now make operational the world's first anti-ship ballistic missile. The United States' current long-range cruise missile has a range of 600 miles. The new Chinese missile will have a range of at least 1,000 miles, denying U.S. Naval forces a significant portion of the Western Pacific.

With double-digit investment increases in its military, it will not be long before China's naval force is larger than ours. According to testimony of Adm. Robert F. Willard, who heads the U.S. Pacific Command, China has more ships in its navy than we have in ours -- and China is rapidly expanding toward blue-water capability.

Additionally, the most egregious cyberattacks -- and potentially the most dangerous to U.S. security -- are consistently coming out of China. The Chinese are quietly and aggressively expanding other elements of their global power as well -- stationing Chinese "civilians" in the Sudan to guard oil pipelines, purchasing farmland abroad to ensure food security, and rapidly purchasing debt from other nations -- most notably, ours.

At a time when China is rapidly building its military muscle, the U.S. seems determined to reduce ours. Make no mistake those around the globe are watching. The DoD's announcement to dismantle JFCOM was breaking news on the Xinhua News Agency China's primary news service and Communist Party propaganda arm.

Our government's spending binge is being funded by the wholesale auctioning of our military, and our national security is at stake. To be sure, the administration would find many allies in Congress -- including myself -- ready to sit at the table to eliminate waste in all our departments and spur much-needed investments in shipbuilding, maintenance, and infrastructure. But the administration has not chosen this course. It has chosen to "round up the usual suspects," under a cloud of secrecy.

At a time when America's long-term priorities and interests are at stake, runaway spending is dictating national security efforts while other budget areas enjoy gluttonous growth. And we could be witnessing the systematic dismantling of the greatest military in the world.
 

To view this article, click here: http://www2.timesdispatch.com/news/2010/oct/24/ed-forbes24-ar-581163/