Unless you have been living under a rock for the past decade or so, you might have heard something about the fact that the United States is in debt.
A lot of debt.
Over $14 trillion worth of debt.
Our current federal budget deficit is over $1.3 trillion.
According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, roughly 21 percent of the government's budget goes to Medicare, Medicaid and CHIP, or child health care programs. About 20 percent goes to Social Security.
Coming in at a very close third is our defense and security budget standing at another 20 percent.
Congress is (supposedly) in the process of finding ways to reduce the budget deficit and long-term debt.
Any sensible person would recognize that everything must be on the chopping block during these tough times. Every congressman's pet project, every earmark, every program and every department deserves critical evaluation and cuts - even defense.
But not according to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
In an interview with Human Events, Rumsfeld said, "The Department of Defense is not what's causing the debt and deficit. It's the entitlement programs."
He is certainly right that, combined, entitlements make up over 40 percent of the federal budget and future outlays of these programs add trillions more to the debt.
Still, the Defense Department accounts for one-fifth of our budget; to say that it is not a contributing factor to our deficit is a denial of reality.
Rumsfeld then, in a most impressive use of hyperbole and scare tactics, says that if we start looking at the Department of Defense for things to cut, we will be "doomed to suffer another attack of some kind, and our intelligence will be less strong and less effective."
It's always fun when public figures politicize the tragedy of 9/11 to lobby for desired policy goals.
Strategically, the Republicans cannot stubbornly refuse cuts in defense spending and still expect to get desired cuts elsewhere in the budget.
The United States has military bases in over 150 countries, including most European nations and Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea.
How can anyone say that there is not fat in the defense budget? What purpose does our military presence in countries like Japan and Germany serve? Is this really a vital U.S. interest?
How much money is wasted when the government signs defense contracts, not based on value, but on how much that contractor contributed to key members of the Armed Services Committee?
Rumsfeld's remarks irresponsibly frighten the public from seriously considering the cost of American foreign policy and our role abroad.
