Defense Spending Versus Austerity

Given the world economic slump, the chronic problem of exorbitantly expensive weapons is becoming acute, says The Economist. Western governments are cutting defense spending. “On August 9th Mr Gates announced a new set of money-saving measures: among them cutting at least 50 of the 900-plus generals and admirals; eliminating the joint-forces command, which promotes integration among the services; cutting funds for contractors; and reducing staff in Mr Gates’s own office. There are sound military reasons for this internal cost-cutting, especially the need to redirect money to the war in Afghanistan. But Mr Gates knows that after a decade of ever-rising defence spending, ‘the gusher has been turned off’; now his greatest fear is that defence spending will be cut to curb the budget deficit.”