2000 Presidential Election--George W. Bush's Views on Defense.

On U.S. Global Leadership

"The world needs America's strength and leadership, and America's armed forces need equipment better training and better pay. We will give our military die means to keep the peace, and we will give it one thing more: a commander-in-chief who respects our men

On U.S. Military Intervention

"A generation shaped by Vietnam must remember the lessons of Vietnam. When America uses force in the world, the cause must he just, the goal must be clear, and the victory must be overwhelming."

Bush promises to:

* Maintain longstanding U.S. commitments, but order an immediate review of overseas deployments in dozens, of countries, with the aim of replacing uncertain missions with well-defined objectives.

* Promote cooperation with our allies, who should share the burden of defense.

* Order a comprehensive military review to develop a new architecture for American defense designed to meet the challenges of the next century.

On Defense Spending

"U.S. defense spending has declined nearly 40 percent [under the current administration] and is now at its lowest levels as a percentage of the Gross Nation al Product than at any time since 1940. This has led to what the [current] undersecretary of defense termed a 'budgetary death spiral,' --pouring more and more money into older and older equipment, draining funds away from modernization and helping to cause lower morale and problems with retention an recruiting.

"We have asked our servicemen and women to do too much with too little....

"Even the highest morale is eventually undermined by back-to-back deployments, poor pay, shortages of spare parts and equipment, and rapidly declining readiness. I make this pledge to our men and women in arms:

As president, I will preserve American power for American interests. And I will treat American soldiers with the dignity and respect they have earned."

Bush promises to:

* Improve troop morale [via] better pay, better treatment and better training.

* Add a billion dollars in salary increases, and renovate military housing.

* Increase investment in research and development by at least $20 billion over the next five years, 20 percent [of which] must be spent for purchasing next generation weapons.

On Arms Control

"I will work to reduce nuclear weapons and nuclear tension in the world--to turn these years of influence into decades of peace. And my administration will deploy missile defenses to guard against attack and blackmail. Now is the time, not to defend outdated treaties, but to defend the American people.

"The premises of Cold War nuclear targeting should no longer dictate the size of our arsenal."

Bush proposes building a national missile defense system that would cover all 50 states and could be extended to protect allies in Europe, the Mideast and Asia.

On 'Rogue' States

"There's broad agreement that our nation needs a new approach to nuclear security that matches a new era. When it comes to nuclear weapons, the world has changed faster than U.S. policy. The emerging security threats to the United States, to its friends and allies, and even to Russia, now come from rogue states, terrorist groups and other adversaries seeking weapons of mass destruction.

It is time to leave the Cold War behind. America must build effective missile defenses based on the best available options at the earliest possible date. It is possible to build a missile defense and diffuse confrontation with Russia. America should do both. I will never reduce the levels of the nuclear stockpile of the U.S. to a position where we jeopardize our safety and security. And no, I don't support the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty."

On Lessons From Vietnam

"Our nation should be slow to engage troops. But when we do so, we must do so with ferocity. We must not go into a conflict unless we go in committed to win. We can never again ask the military to fight a political war. If America's strategic interests are at stake, if diplomacy fails, if no other option will accomplish the objective, the commander in chief must define the mission and allow the military to achieve it.

On Security at National Labs

"America's nuclear security should not be a matter of lost and found.

"In my administration, our national labs will be secure again, our vital information will be sealed again, our nuclear secrets will be safe again."

On the Commander in Chief

"The role of the commander in chief is to clearly define what the mission of the military is. The mission of the military is to fight and be able to win war, and therefore prevent war from happening in the first place. The commander in chief must let the general officers understand what the goal is and ask them to prepare a military of high morale and high standing. The generals [decide] the best way for us to prepare our military for the mission."

"When I'm the president ... if I ever commit troops, I'm going to do so with one thing in mind. And that's to win. To win in a fashion that not only achieves victory, but gets us out of the theater in quick order."

On Dealing With Terrorism

"This is still a world of terror and missiles and madmen. We are challenged by aging weapons and failing intelligence. I will rebuild our military power--because a dangerous world still requires a sharpened sword. I will move quickly to defend our people and our allies against missiles and blackmail. And I will have a foreign policy with a touch of iron--driven by American values and American interests."

Source: Issues2000.org