Is America heeding the lessons of Desert Storm?
4) Are Navy capabilities endangered? 5) How low is too low? As Bush and the Congress ponder these questions, they may reach some unsettling conclusions. Among them: 1) Bush’s own SDI plan for defending America against Third World or inadvertent Soviet missile strikes is in serious trouble, and much of the fault lies with Bush himself. He has yet to demonstrate strong support for his own SDI program, and this year may be his last chance to prove his commitment to a missile defense for America; 2) Key strategic nuclear programs are in danger. Last year’s budget summit caps Pentagon spending. As long as Congress insists on remaining within the budget agreement, the money for strategic forces too implicitly is capped, unless the Pentagon shifts resources between major program sectors. This would require a major shift. While theoretically and technically this could be done, Pentagon and Capitol Hill politics make it very unlikely. With funds therefore capped, money should be spent in a way
