Obvious inspiration from Foreign Policy – but, hey, the “Ad” department at War Council is pretty small (me).
War Council’s first week is in the bag! Thanks to all those who contributed original content, as well as to all the reader’s that have made this such a successful launch. Particularly thanks to Tom Ricks and his Best Defense readers, who shot our “page views” through the roof.
Of course, I’m circumspect – I know that this first week is not representative – and that a spark does not a fire make. We have a great week lined up: Major General H.R. McMaster, Commanding General of the U.S. Army’s Maneuver Center of Excellence has written on strategic self study, Colonel (Ret.) Rick Swain – former Professor of the Center for the Professional Military Ethic at West Point has written on the same subject, and others that I’m sure will be worth your time.
But then what? This venue is only a vehicle, and will only be propelled forward with your written ideas – so please consider a contribution. Consider it your investment in the future strength of the Profession of Arms.
Alright, enough of that: time to get back to work with a final thought for the week. This is a line from page 6 of the Sustainable Defense Task Force Report of June 11, 2010 (Congressional mandate, run by the Project on Defense Alternatives):
“One measure of change since the Cold War is the balance of world military spending. In 1986, US military spending was only 60% as high as that of its adversaries (taken as a group). Today, America spends more than two and one-half times as much as does the group of potential adversary states, including Russia and China. This means that if the United States were to cut its spending in half today, it would still be spending more than its current and potential adversaries – and the balance would still be twice as favorable as during the Cold War.”
Wow.
See you next week. We’ve got work to do.