And, he says, we should count on at least three months' warning to mobilize for significant conflict. If we need to reinforce Europe, the Reserve and the National Guard can do that. Navy submarines, backed up by a diminished complement of bombers and ICBMs, will provide plenty of strategic deterrence. Such a reduction would disband units, abolish infrastructure, and close production lines, but some critics see it as a limited step. Mr. Kaufmann, Mr. Cheney, and Mr. Korb are hardly alone in planning reductions to defense.
Deep cuts seem to be a foregone conclusion.
National security planning is in chaos. The speculation list of what forces might be disbanded or demobilized changes by the day. The nation seems blissfully eager to bet the works on optimistic assumptions. It is tempting to believe that collapse of the Soviet empire and the new detente in Europe signify an era of permanent peace. I was supposed to be the war to end all wars.