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Scrimping At The Battlefield?

Activists Outraged As Gates Makes Defense Cuts Without Rhyme or Reason
April 7, 2009 (Washington, DC)—As the federal government struggles to make ends meet in an era of
ballooning budgets, a freedom-focused advocacy group has taken issue with Defense Secretary Robert
Gates’ decision to make deep cuts in DOD spending. Of particular concern is his decision to end funding
to the Army’s “Future Combat Systems” program, a research-and-development program whose aim is to
bring the most cutting edge technologies to ground warfare.

“Infantry operations are the heart of war fighting,” said Andrew Langer, President of the Institute
for Liberty. “In the end, as I have said many times, all warfare is ground warfare. Without boots
on the ground able to take control of the battlefield, we have ultimately won nothing. The FCS
program’s aim was to give American soldiers an incredible edge in doing so, and this kind of
scrimping harms far more than it helps.”

The American public remains especially critical of the massive increase in federal spending. But while
Congress is spending billions on programs that serve little in the way of public good, they are cutting
what many consider to be the core function of the central government: the defense of the republic.

“If history has shown us anything,” continued Mr. Langer, “it’s that an America left unprepared is
an America that will be brutally attacked. Experts are telling IFL that these cuts are being made
without rhyme or reason. That’s the worst kind of public policymaking. If we’re going to cut
spending, even defense spending, we should start with programs that are truly wasteful, not
programs that underpin our core warfighting needs.

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