To the Point
Reshaping the Pentagon for a Dangerous New World
The Pentagon spends 85% more than it did eight years ago, but US forces are stretched almost to the breaking point. In the midst of recession, with new threats on the horizon, will Barack Obama have to increase strength and readiness at the same time he decreases spending? We hear radically different views. Also, the auto industry continues its push for a bailout, and consumer prices are on the decline. Is that good news or bad?
By Warren Olney • • 1h 0m ListenThe Pentagon spends 85% more than it did eight years ago, but US forces are stretched almost to the breaking point. In the midst of recession, with new threats on the horizon, will Barack Obama have to increase strength and readiness at the same time he decreases spending? We hear radically different views. Also, the auto industry continues its push for a bailout, and consumer princes dropped by a record amount in October. Is it time to worry about deflation?
Banner image: Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) (R) speaks during a briefing on operations in Iraq by Army Gen. David Petraeus (R), commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, as then-Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) (3rd-L), Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) (L), and Ryan Crocker (2nd-R), US ambassador to Iraq, listen July 21, 2008 in Baghdad, Iraq. Photo: Lorie Jewell/U.S. Army via Getty Images
