Lexington Institute turns on the Pentagon.

Dr. Goure doesn't usually surprise me but when I read his latest today it absolutely floored me!  Read the whole thing but check this out...

The Republicans believe, although some may be reluctant to say so publicly, that the nation is facing a tide of threats for which the administration’s proposed force structure will be inadequate. This week alone, Russia advanced its plan to dismember Ukraine, China sought to extend its control of the South China Sea, North Korea continued preparations for another nuclear test, Al Qaeda and its affiliates demonstrated that they are not on the run but rather resurgent and Iran continued to prepare for conflict in the Persian Gulf.
The likelihood that the United States will have to fight multiple major theater conflicts (MRCs) at the same time is increasing. Moreover, these won’t be the kind of MRCs planned for after the Cold War. Our prospective adversaries have gone to school on the American way of war. They have been acquiring advanced offensive and defensive capabilities designed to counter longstanding U.S. technological and operational advantages. HASC Republicans understand that the measure of the United States as a superpower is a force structure of sufficient quantity and quality to fight and win these new types of high-end conflicts in multiple theaters.

Wow.  I'm still taking it in.

We were presented two rather stark choices.  Either we prepare for future challenges or we maintain our current force.

Goure is arguing that the choice the Pentagon made is wrong.  That current challenges are so dangerous that we can't risk gutting our forces.

This is probably the most meaningful article on defense spending (wish he would have gone into greater detail on whats actually needed) I've read this year.