Donald Trump on Defense

3% of GNP for military is too low

To tell the enemy we’re not going to invade defies common sense. That lack of confidence may reflect another troubling reality: our diminished military forces. To wage our aerial assault on Yugoslavia we had to call upon US forces from all points of the globe. Why? Because we’re spread too thin. The US last year spent 3% of gross domestic product maintaining our military forces. Compare that with past figures: Defense spending in the last year of the Carter administration came to 4.9% of GDP. During the Reagan buildup it was 6.5%. We are still living off the Reagan military buildup of nearly 20 years ago. The question is: What will we live off ten or fifteen years from now if we do not invest again?

You can’t pursue forward military and foreign-policy objectives on a backward military budget. I’m not advocating that America go forth and police the world. I’m just saying that if we’re going to use our military power abroad, we had better make sure that power is ready to be used.

Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.149 Jul 2, 2000

Missile defense is inappropriate; focus on terrorism

We definitely must find funding for defense, which means somebody is going to come up with less money for their own project. I think the best place to start is by diverting money from the planned missile defense system. I know this sounds almost counterintuitive because a missile defense system is supposed to help us defend against attack by rogue states.

To begin with, I’m not laughing at missile defense, and I never have. The question isn’t whether or not such a defense can be built. The question is whether it is the right defense for our times. And I believe the answer is, largely, no. In this age of miniaturization, our real threat is not going to be flying in on a missile. It’s going to be delivered in a van, or a suitcase, or a fire-hydrant-sized canister.

Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.150 Jul 2, 2000

Prepare for bio-terrorism attack

We need to stockpile antibiotics in major population areas and train emergency workers to respond quickly to biological attack. We need to develop and deploy sensors in major cities that will give us early warning that biological devices have been detonated. Remember, these microbes can take a while to spread, so any warning we have will help to save lives. We need to keep a close eye on former Soviet bio-technicians, offering them jobs where we can and steering them clear of terrorist regimes. Call your congressman. When private citizens start asking about the Joint Statement on Biological Weapons, politicians will know this is an issue they’d better take seriously.

[We should] prepare for the possibility of attack, to avoid total panic in case an attack does occur. Our adversaries understand that if they are able to blindside us they will be much more likely to succeed in blackmailing us.

Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.166-67 Jul 2, 2000

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