Getting Serious about Defense Policy

Recorded on October 19, 2015 – Hoover Institution fellow Kori Schake discusses the importance of defense spending, noting that we have bigger problems than defense spending and are not likely to solve those problems until we can agree on entitlement spending. Such an agreement will make it possible to get the resources for more defense spending. The United States enjoys a wide margin of error in defense policy, but we are playing a strong hand weakly. Geoffrey Blainey wrote that wars are begun by states who believe they can win. It’s not arms buildup, it’s not cultural factors, and it’s not one power being stronger than another; wars begin because a country thinks it can win. We are at risk for war because Obama has abandoned his global responsibility. Schake concludes with a warning that, until we get an agreement on entitlement reform showing we are governable as a society, we are going to be at risk. An entitlement agreement is the canary in the coal mine.