America’s Defense Budget Cut Is More Than Just a Simple Reduction

On March 16, Jonathan Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations for the U.S. Navy, stated that U.S. armed forces will strengthen their military presence in the Persian Gulf region in order to ensure open passage in the Strait of Hormuz. Not long ago, Deputy Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter revealed that the U.S. plans to greatly expand its military deployments to the Asia-Pacific region, increasing the ratio of warships from 52 percent of all U.S. naval vessels to 60 percent. The U.S. armed forces have repeatedly expressed their desire to increase troop numbers in the Asia-Pacific region in order to adhere to America’s new plan to shift its strategic focus to the East and to appease its ASEAN allies.

In February of this year, the U.S. announced a $613.9 billion defense budget for 2013. According to this budget request, this will be the second year in a row that America’s defense budget has decreased. Some Western media outlets sensationalized this event by predicting that America’s military might would slip into its own period of decline. A number of congressmen with a military background warned that U.S. military strength would hit bottom due to a shortage of funds. Allies in the Asia-Pacific region, like Japan and South Korea, are even more concerned that these budget cuts will lower America’s military capabilities abroad.

In reality, America’s defense budget cut is more than just a simple reduction.

America’s defense budget cuts are not so much out of necessity as they are a return to rationality under a new strategic backdrop. After 9/11, the U.S. launched two wars, one in Iraq and the other in Afghanistan. Under the guise of meeting the special requirements of war, the defense budget soared. Despite the long-term recession brought on by the subprime mortgage crisis of 2008 and the ever-increasing government deficits, U.S. military expenditures continued to set new highs. In 2010, the budget set a new record by reaching $708 billion.

Also occurring during this time was the European debt crisis, in which America’s traditional European allies announced austerity programs for their own defense budgets. France’s plan is to cut out 3.5 billion Euros from its defense spending from 2011 to 2013. England’s plan is to reduce the defense budget by 8 percent from 2011 to 2014, while also retaining the possibility to reduce it by even more. In 2011, the U.S. killed Bin Laden, thereby removing al-Qaida’s ringleader and earning a partial victory in the war on terror. Moreover, U.S. forces successfully withdrew from Iraq and are currently doing the same in Afghanistan. Under this backdrop, a reduction in the defense budget by the U.S. is a reasonable measure.

However, the $613.9 billion defense budget is still way ahead of the international community. A report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute showed that American defense spending has always remained about 40 percent of world military expenditures, but its GDP is only 20 percent of global GDP. Even Obama has stated that if U.S. military spending remains high, it will exceed the combined military budgets of the next 10 largest nations.

The total defense budget is not necessarily a reliable index for assessing America’s military strength. The U.S. defense budget consists of two parts: the basic defense budget and the overseas defense budget. The former is used in military projects like equipment research and development, armed forces training and infrastructure construction. The latter is used in paying for military activities abroad. In assessing America’s military might, the basic defense budget is the most reliable index. U.S. armed forces have always stressed the basic defense budget. In the defense budget for 2013, the basic defense budget is $525.4 billion, which is about the same as it was during the previous two years.

The 2011 academic report from the non-profit Stimson Center revealed that in the last 10 years, the U.S. military has spent $1 trillion on purchasing military equipment and has already completed upgrades and improvements on most of its equipment. Of the Pentagon’s 14 most expensive military projects, 10 have already received the necessary funding. The Congressional Budget Office predicts that in the next 10 years, the U.S. basic defense budget will steadily increase and will pass the $600 billion mark before 2020. It’s obvious that the U.S. military will not be short on funds in the future.

Furthermore, the allocation of the 2013 defense budget as well as the plan to disarm 100,000 troops clearly reveals that military technology will be the main focus in the development of the armed forces. The U.S. will use technology and not troops to maintain its military superiority.