>>>Shelton tells a good part of the story BUT when we listen to Shrub and his chosen 2nd in command, "Dick", we have to remember that it was same 2nd-in-cmd who was the architect of the "end of the Cold War" spending plans, complete with military spending reductions and with the result of associated reductions in military readiness overall. After the article is a capsulised version of the expenditures from the late 80ies through the mid 90ies (the site has ALL the pertinent data), showing the start of the decline in spending as early as 1991. Later years' expenditures are developed based on previous years' projections. So, what Bill Jeff actually did was follow his predecessors' formulae (3rd Wayve stuff). Then, of course, came the 'World's Cop' role to which Shelton is referring. A<>E<>R << Via http://www.drudgereport.com/gertz.htm > Spending and resources have been cut 40 percent, while worldwide commitments > have increased 300 percent, he said. > > "We are doing much more than we were doing 10 years ago, and we are doing it > with much less," he said. }}>Begin BILL GERTZ THE WASHINGTON TIMES Aug 05, 2000br> General says Bush wrong on readiness President Clinton's top military adviser yesterday defended the Army against charges that two of its divisions are not combat ready, but acknowledged the military is facing preparedness problems. Gen. Henry H. Shelton said following a speech in Los Angeles that all U.S. Army divisions are set for combat. "But that doesn't mean that everything is the way we would all like to have it," the four-star general said to the Town Hall of Los Angeles, a public- affairs group. But he added that there are "some readiness shortfalls" that will not be fixed quickly. "Once readiness starts down, you don't just turn it around overnight." Gen. Shelton was responding to criticism leveled during the presidential- nomination acceptance speech by Texas Gov. George W. Bush on Thursday in Philadelphia. "If called on by the commander in chief today, two entire divisions of the Army would have to report: `Not ready for duty, sir.' " Mr. Bush said in his speech. Gen. Shelton acknowledged that the divisions to which Mr. Bush referred - the 1st Infantry Division and the 10th Mountain Division - had reported last fall that they were not ready for war. But the Army had "jumped right on top of that" and brought them back to combat readiness, Gen. Shelton said. Mr. Bush stood by his criticisms yesterday in an interview on CNN. "Last November, there was a report that said two divisions were not ready for combat," he said. "If the Army, in fact, changes its tune from that report . . . then they need to let the country know." Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon gave media interviews yesterday to rebut Mr. Bush's charges, causing the Republican presidential nominee to question the timing of any new information. "I am amazed that they would put out a statement right after our convention," Mr. Bush told CNN. "I'm curious why it took them this long to say they were combat-ready after a report last November said they weren't." Mr. Bush also reiterated other parts of his criticisms. "We've seen an Apache helicopter squad go to Kosovo, not ready for combat," he said. "Recruitment goals are not being met. . . . Those who follow the military know morale is dangerously low." Gen. Shelton acknowledged that cuts in military budgets and personnel in the past decade have taxed the military. Spending and resources have been cut 40 percent, while worldwide commitments have increased 300 percent, he said. "We are doing much more than we were doing 10 years ago, and we are doing it with much less," he said. Army officials have said the not-ready designation for the two divisions grew from each division having one brigade, up to half its troops, tied up in the Clinton administration's "humanitarian" interventions in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. In an interview with Reuters news agency, Mr. Bacon said spending on military pay, benefits, weapons and training was now rising and morale was improving. "We have increased military pay and benefits and increased money for arms procurement and training," he said. "Morale is high, and the best sign of that is that retention [of current soldiers] is going up and the recruiting problem that we faced last year has largely been repaired." In the past year, an Army Research Institute survey and a Center for Strategic and International Studies study based on interviews with 12,000 military personnel have both documented slipping morale in recent years. End<{{ >From http://www.fas.org/man/docs/fy98/historical/fy98_table5-1.htm }}>Begin excerpt Table 5.1--BUDGET AUTHORITY BY FUNCTION AND SUBFUNCTION: 1976- 2002--Continued (in millions of dollars) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- Function and Subfunction 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------- 050 National defense: >>SNIPPED for brevity<< Total, National defense... 299,567 303,263 288,878 295,070 281,076 263,322 266,314 End excerpt <{{ A<>E<>R Integrity has no need of rules. -Albert Camus (1913-1960) + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The libertarian therefore considers one of his prime educational tasks is to spread the demystification and desanctification of the State among its hapless subjects. 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