Ex-VP says Obama chooses foodstamps over a strong military

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has revealed that his defense budget request will mark a departure from the past.   Troop levels will be reduced to the lowest since before World War II, and the U.S. will no longer plan to deploy large troops for long periods of time in troubled spots in the world.    Without saying the words, he seems to be declaring that we will no longer try to be the the police force for the world.

I, along with many liberals, applaud this.   For too long, we have let domestic needs go wanting while we spent more on defense than all other nations combined.

Former Veep Dick Cheney said on Fox News that the cuts are "just devastating."

“I have not been a strong supporter of Barack Obama. But this really is over the top. It does enormous long-term damage to our military. . . .  They act as though it is like highway spending and you can turn it on and off. The fact of the matter is he is having a huge impact on the ability of future presidents to deal with future crises that are bound to arise.”

Cheney later added:

"[Obama] would much rather spend the money on food stamps than he would on a strong military or support for our troops.”

Of course, the little remarked fact is that the proposed budget gives more to the military than the current amount it has under the sequester.   So it would actually increase defense spending from its current level.

Well, another way of putting that would be that President Obama is re-balancing a budget that has been out of whack for years, where congress has insisted on keeping weapons systems that are no longer needed and that the military didn't even request but that bring money to the congressmen's districts.

The whole concept of war in the modern world is changing.   We don't need Cold War era weapons.   It is time to adapt to what makes sense -- and to take care of our own citizens in need.

President Obama's priorities are far preferable to those of Dick Cheney who, like most Republicans, never met a weapons system or a defense contractor that he didn't like.

Ralph

PS:   Here's a little fact that I just found out.   Maybe His Exaltedness doesn't know about it:  Families of military veterans relied on food stamps and redeemed $100 million worth at base commisaries in 2013.    The Veep wants to cut those?