Ronald Reagan understood a fundamental truth: Defense policy is foreign policy. The decision by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to remove the 2007 Defense Authorization Bill from Senate consideration last week demonstrates the Democratic leadership’s obsession with short-term political victories which have weakened America’s overall strategic position in the world. On Friday, the President publicly condemned Senator Reid’s actions, however his criticism has fallen on deaf ears, largely because of his own weak political position. This reality has allowed Democrats and several like-minded Republicans to make the Defense Authorization Bill a political debate about Iraq and not about properly funding our armed forces.

No matter how you feel about the motivation behind the liberation of Iraq, Americans must understand the broader implications of redefining the debate over military funding. President Reagan understood that a country can only negotiate from a position of strength and for this reason he increased defense spending by double digits in his first two years in office. This decision reverberated through history and was the basis for the collapse of the Soviet Union, our victory in the Persian Gulf War, and the end of genocide in Bosnia.

President Clinton, who benefited greatly from the downfall of the Soviet Union, used his administration to systematically cut defense spending and undo much of the progress made by President Reagan. When the United States achieved victory in the Persian Gulf War the Army had 18 divisions, each with 10,000 to 20,000 soldiers; however Clinton cut the Army to its current size of 10, despite warnings from Congress and other informed observers. Similar cuts in the Navy and Air Force mirrored the reductions in the Army.   ….more