“Providing for the Common Defense” is a fundamental obligation of government. Obama’s challenge is to pay for what the Pentagon needs in the face spiraling national debt and the growing explosion of entitlement spending (numbers that dwarf the defense budget and all the spending for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan combined). The speech suggests he has no clue how to do that—because all he did was repeat empty promises that he made on the campaign trail.
“We’ll eliminate the no-bid contracts that have wasted billions in Iraq,” Obama declared. These contracts accounted for a fraction of those issued in Iraq. In fact, the vast preponderance of Pentagon contracts are let through competitive bids—many go to small businesses. Despite dozens and dozens of official government audits since 2003 there is no credible evidence that eliminating “no-bid” contracting will save “billions.” Invoking the contractor equivalent of the “bogeyman” won’t buy the equipment and provide the support our men and women in arms need to protect themselves and serve the nation. Continue reading…
