A summing up

Sea Power, Dec 1998 by Kennedy, Jack M

ith the elections over, Congress and the White House already preparing their agendas for the coming year, and the fiscal year 1999 defense authorization and appropriations bills (as well as the last-minute omnibus appropriations bill) passed and signed into law by the president, it is time for a summing up: a brief review of the year past, and a clouded crystal-ball look at what to expect in the year ahead.

In the field of national defense there was little to cheer about. But there also were no major disasters, and there are, in fact, a few bright spots on the horizon. India and Pakistan moved closer to joining the short but expanding list of global nuclear powers. A greater concern, though, was North Korea's arrogant launch of a long-range Taepo Dong-l missile over the sovereign territory of Japan. Pyongyang's flouting of world opinion was trumped several times, however, by Saddam Hussein's refusal to allow any further U.N. inspections of Iraqi facilities that could be used for the production and/or storage of weapons of mass destruction. In both situations the U.S. response was the samea repetition of strongly worded warnings that had been issued many times previously (to no avail). But, as of mid-November, no action. Regrettably, U.S. fulminations and vacillation provided an easy shield for the other nations of the Free World, few if any of which were willing to advocate stronger measures. Moreover, except for Kuwait, the Mideast nations most directly threatened by Iraq refused even to consider overt military operations against Baghdad.

The United States did respond, though, to the bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania by launching Tomahawk strikes against terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan that was believed to have been used in the manufacture of chemical weapons. The jury is still out, unfortunately, on the wisdom and/or long-term effectiveness of those strikes. One small lesson might have been learned, though: Those who directly threaten the lives of American citizens and/or vital U.S. interests overseas put themselves in Harm's Way as well. Sometimes.

In short, it was not a good year for U.S. diplomacy. Or for American prestige around the world.

These embarrassments and setbacks were counterbalanced and to some degree offset by the continued deterrent presence provided by forward-deployed U.S. forces, who helped maintain the increasingly precarious world peace that, except for a few mostly local conflicts, has continued since the end of the Gulf War. The strain on America's armed forces became more visible, though. And, thanks to the unrelenting operations tempo, and continued cutbacks in defense spending, short- and long-term recruiting and retention problems have dramatically increased.

Which is where the "bright spots" alluded to earlier come into play. More and more members of Congress, led by Rep. Floyd Spence (R-S.C.) in the House and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in the Senate, are now sounding the alarm about the deterioration of U.S. readiness and the need for immediate, and massive, infusions of additional funds into the procurement and RDT&E "investment" accounts. Military issues were at best a minor blip on the screen in the November elections, but may get greater attention, from Congress and the American people, in the next two years. The groundwork was laid in the 29 September SASC (Senate Armed Services Committee) hearings when the joint chiefs testified-more candidly and in much greater detail than they had in the past several yearsabout the escalating personnel, readiness, and equipment problems that threaten to create a new "hollow force" by the turn of the century.

Another hopeful sign is the creation of the BorenRudman National Security Commission, which is charged with reviewing the total spectrum of nationalsecurity threats facing the United States in the first quarter of the next century. If the commission does its work conscientiously and issues an honest report, the cause of peace will be well-served.

In conclusion, let me state that the Navy League and other patriotic organizations have their work cut out for them. U.S. defense capabilities have been declining for far too long, and the time available for remedial action is far too short. Our mission is education, and it is up to all of us to carry out that mission as well as the men and women in our armed forces carry out all of their missions: 24 hours a day, every day, every week of the year.