Congress Buys Unwanted Tanks to Please Campaign Contributors
April 29th, 2013
From a constitutional standpoint, national defense is arguably the government’s most important responsibility. However, former President Eisenhower warned us that defense contractors might get too addicted to government welfare in such a way as to create a military-industrial complex, where decisions about foreign policy are made, not based on the security interests of the United States, but instead in accordance with the business interests of private defense contractors.
The Huffington Post is reporting that bipartisan members of Congress are pushing to spend $436 million on Abrams tanks that the Army does not need. Similar sums have already been spent buying unnecessary tanks over the past two years. Multiple Army officials are asking Congress to stop sending more tanks. However, lawmakers appear to be focusing on the needs of their tank-producing campaign contributors over the legitimate readiness concerns of the US military. Is the military-industrial complex putting our national security at risk?
Giving Out Defense Dollars to Campaign Contributors
As an example of this emerging trend, many Abrams tanks are produced in Lima, OH. The tank factory is a significant employer there. As such, representatives from the area are fighting to keep the tank contracts in place, whether they are necessary or not. This demonstrates one of the key problems presented by the military-industrial complex. National defense decisions should be based only on national defense.
However, lawmakers will argue that this is a jobs program that provides tools for national defense. That said, unused tanks must be stored and maintained at a significant cost. While these particular vehicles might be more advanced and equipped with flashy, first-rate video screens, the Army is quite satisfied with the already-upgraded tank fleet that it has now.
The Army Is Motivated By the Recent Decline in Tank Warfare
Tank-on-tank encounters are not as common as they might have been in prior conflicts. America’s recent wars have largely been against insurgent groups without conventional military hardware. As a result, the Army is not losing tanks at a rate that calls for year-over-year replacement. Most of the Army’s current tanks are brand-new and already have the modernization upgrades.
The military wants to stop producing more tanks until 2017. This is based on the military’s need for tanks. Congress wants to continue producing the tanks based on tank manufacturers’ desire for more money. The US government shouldn’t enroll defense contractors in lifelong welfare programs. Military equipment should be purchased at the best possible price and only as needed.
This brings up another point, though. Should we be in wars against enemies that can’t destroy our tanks? When our enemies are so weak that they aren’t physically able to destroy military hardware that has been in use by most nations since World War I, then maybe it’s time to consider coming home and focusing our defense purchases on assets for the legitimate defense of the United States against bigger foes.
The military-industrial complex is a serious threat to our national security and our nation’s fiscal solvency. Our foreign policy decisions should be guided by the security interests of the United States, not by the financial desires of defense contractors.
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