Atlantic Council Senior Adviser Harlan Ullman writes an open letter to John McCain for Defense News on the importance of reducing cost growth in the Department of Defense and the US military:
Dear Sen. John McCain:
You know as well as anyone, the Department of Defense and the US military are at greater risk today than at any time since Sept. 11. The principal threat is not al-Qaida, Da’esh or a resurgent China or Russia, although a good part of the world remains dangerously unstable. Nor is sequestration, despite its irrationality, the mortal danger, although it will harm the forces.
Instead, the Pentagon faces three internal threats that can be characterized in terms of strategy, people and uncontrollable cost growth. If not addressed, the predictable outcome will be a “hollow force,” reminiscent of what happened after the Vietnam War when our military capability, preparedness and morale imploded