Mitt Romney’s defense spending addiction
Throwing billions more at the military won’t make America safer; smartly transforming our armed forces will
In a 2007 primary debate, the Republican candidates got around to discussing the detention of suspected terrorists in Guantanamo Bay. In contrast to then-candidate Barack Obama’s vow to close it, most on stage defended the prison.
Mitt Romney took the opportunity to sound especially strong: “My view is we ought to double Guantanamo.”
It was an instant classic of mindless GOP chest-thumping on national security.
Romney is playing the same game on the campaign trail these days, only this time it’s costlier — because what he aims to inflate, along with his tough-guy image, is the entire U.S. military establishment. This at a time when Washington in the midst of a critical conversation about how to smartly spend slightly less on defense.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Truman National Security Project or Educational Institute.
