Gates warns against shrinking US military: "Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday called for maintaining a powerful US military and warned against slashing its budget as a response to the country's fiscal troubles.
In one of his last scheduled speeches before he steps down at the end of June, Gates told students at the University of Notre Dame that the country could not afford to shirk its global responsibilities or to scale back its armed forces.
'As we make the tough choices needed to put this country's finances in order and to secure our future prosperity -- including the sacrifices that will be required of all Americans -- there will undoubtedly be calls to shrink America's role in the world -- for us to sharply reduce our international commitments and the size and capabilities of our military,' Gates said.
He said after each war there was a tendency for Americans to favor reducing the size of the armed forces, reflecting a view 'that we will no longer have to confront foreign enemies with size, steel, and strength.'
'But make no mistake, the ultimate guarantee against the success of aggressors, dictators, and terrorists in the 21st century, as in the 20th, is hard power -- the size, strength, and global reach of the United States military,' Gates said in the commencement speech."
