WASHINGTON, October 6 (RIA Novosti) - A hollowed out US military with levels of disarmament, comparable to the period before World War II, is the most dangerous threat to American security of the recent US administration, Louisiana Governor, Bobby Jindal said on Monday.
"We're getting a hollowed out military again, thanks to this administration's neglect and disinvestment in our military," said Jindal in a Monday speech at the American Enterprise Institute. "Of all the mistakes President Obama has made, this strikes me as the most dangerous. The same progressive motivations that led to foolish levels of disarmament in the 1930s are now once again leading us down the road to a military that cannot do what we need it to do when we need to do it," he explained.
Jindal added that while defense spending increased substantially in the post-9/11 period, those increases were "eaten up" by the costs of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, as well as the costs of maintaining an aging inventory and higher personnel costs.
"By the time President Obama had taken office, the American military was in an increasingly fragile condition," Jindal said, noting that in the next years the US tomahawk missiles will be phased out.
"It is all the more frustrating that we are pursuing this course at a time of multiplying threats." Jindal concluded.
The US military has been subject to intense budget cuts since the 2010 sequestration. According to the most recent report by the bipartisan Quadrennial Defense Review, the US faces increasing risk overseas if budget sequestration is not repealed including laying off over 20,000 soldiers, eliminating another aircraft carrier from the Navy, and also eliminating platforms from the air force.
