Let's Go Hollow Early

A congressional report says that if SuperCongress can't resolve their budget impasse, the US military will be "hollowed out". Examples include:

• Army and Marines cut by 200,000 troops
• Navy cut by 62 ships, including 2 carriers
• Air Force fighters cut in half to 1516 fighter aircraft
• Strategic bombs? cut to 100 (whatever that is)
• ICBMs cut by 25%

There's more but the US military would no longer be the world's policeman yet could decisively defend the US from any threat. Buck McKeon is worried that the US wouldn't be able to deal with North Korea, Iran, China or defend Israel. But the US isn't going to deal with any of those threats anyway. The world knows it, so let's quit playing games.

The US is broke, economically and morally. The post-WW2 days of playing world hegemon and empire are over. Let's drop the pretense and move on to our future as England, Spain, Rome and the Mongol Horde. We spent a lot of money in Iraq and Afghanistan to accomplish nothing. Both places are full of Islamonuts whose great-grandchildren will still want to kill us (even though we will be North Mexico by the time they're adults).

Let's withdraw from the world and go hollow early.