Enough is Enough

The days of the military industrial complex (feel free to capitalize or hyphenate that phrase as you please) are behind us. President Eisenhower saw a great threat and responded to it accordingly. Times have changed, and President Obama is not spending less on defense, nor should he be; he's spending wisely. The Cold War days are over, and the old guard in Washington is loath to admit it.

The days of constant armament and massive spending are over, and the war hawks should not be complaining, as there is still more than enough money to go around. According to Salon President Obama is increasing military spending in cost effective sectors, and cutting the chaff.

The rub lies in how these dollars are being spent. It's high time for large bid government contracts to fly out the window; now is the era of low tech yet high powered armaments. Drone aircraft capable of delivering payloads are preferable to manned craft. Developments in computer programming are not a thing of the past; Moore's law is still in effect and unmanned aircraft will end up being more effective than manned aircraft.

Effective body armor will be our troops main line of defense in the future; the most effective armor that can be provided to ensure the safety of every troop will lend an insurmountable edge in the messy battle conditions in Afghanistan and Iraq, extending to whatever foes America may find themselves battling in the future.

This writer would prefer that these advents were unnecessary. However, there are evil people in the world (a subjective claim, I know), and they must be dealt with in a speedy and humane method. President Obama's military spending follows down the correct avenues; cheap yet effective, as opposed to the large, lumbering, painfully vertically integrated companies of our country's past.