Gates Warns Against Big Cuts in Military Spending

NYtimes
May 22, 2011
By THOM SHANKER

WASHINGTON — In a grim warning about financial priorities during a time of fiscal crisis, the defense secretary, Robert M. Gates, said Sunday that budget pressures must not limit Pentagon spending such that the military is unable to defend American interests in an unpredictable world.

Most notable for Mr. Gates — a longtime advocate for diplomacy and development, along with military power, to protect American global interests — was his reminder of the long-term requirement for the United States to sustain an armed force superior to any adversary.

“The problems we as a nation are grappling with are well-known: steep fiscal imbalances and mounting debt, which could develop into a deep crisis for our country,” Mr. Gates told graduating seniors at the University of Notre Dame.

He went on: “At the same time, we face a complex and unpredictable international security environment that includes a major war in Afghanistan, winding up the war in Iraq, revolution throughout the Middle East, new rising powers, nuclear proliferation in Iran and Korea, the continued threat of terrorism, and more.”

Even the death of Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of Al Qaeda who was killed in a Navy commando raid in Pakistan, cannot guarantee that the threat of violent extremism has ended, Mr. Gates said.

As the Pentagon’s chief under Presidents Obama and George W. Bush, Mr. Gates has been a leading advocate of expanding non-military efforts to secure America’s national interests abroad. But in his commencement address, he noted the limits of so-called soft power. Mr. Gates is expected to step down next month, after about four and a half years.

“More than any other secretary of defense, I have been a strong advocate of soft power — of the critical importance of diplomacy and development as fundamental components of our foreign policy and national security,” Mr. Gates said. “But make no mistake, the ultimate guarantee against the success of aggressors, dictators and terrorists in the 21st century, as in the 20th, is hard power — the size, strength and global reach of the United States military.”

Facing tough financial and budget choices, there will be calls “to sharply reduce our international commitments and the size and capabilities of our military,” Mr. Gates acknowledged. And he noted how throughout American history, the nation tended to conclude after each war that “we will no longer have to confront foreign enemies with size, steel and strength.”

But, he warned, “the lessons of history tell us we must not diminish our ability or our determination to deal with the threats and challenges on the horizon, because ultimately they will need to be confronted.”