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A Defense Budget Only a Pirate Could Love

Posted By Conn Carroll On April 14, 2009 @ 12:13 pm In American Leadership,Protect America | 7 Comments

Undeterred by their failure to ransom a U.S. flagged cargo ship, Somali pirates have since brazenly hijacked four more ships in the Gulf of Aden [1]. Heritage has been studying maritime security for years, first issuing a report in 2005 [2]. Our latest 2008 report, Securing the High Seas: America’s Global Maritime Constabulary Power [3], recommended:

  • Doubling the U.S. Coast Guard’s active and reserve end strength over the next decade and accelerating Coast Guard modernization;
  • Expanding the Navy’s stated goal of 313 ships by an additional 37 ships (the preponderance of which should be nuclear powered, including additional nuclear-powered submarines) and focusing Navy operations more on sea control and assured access and less on maritime engagement and security missions; and
  • Establishing a Common Maritime Security Fleet Fund to bolster modernization.

Contrast these policies with the Obama administration’s proposed defense budget which orders the Navy to delay investments in next-generation destroyers and aircraft carriers. [4]

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URL to article: http://blog.heritage.org/2009/04/14/a-defense-budget-only-a-pirate-could-love/

URLs in this post:

[1] Somali pirates have since brazenly hijacked four more ships in the Gulf of Aden: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gB7YMEDuCwwY9ncDOtPAkEI4-H2wD97I97100

[2] 2005: http://www.heritage.org/Research/HomelandDefense/upload/74871_4.pdf

[3] Securing the High Seas: America’s Global Maritime Constabulary Power: http://www.heritage.org/Research/nationalsecurity/sr20.cfm

[4] orders the Navy to delay investments in next-generation destroyers and aircraft carriers.: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/jamescarafano/Obamas-penny-wise-pound-foolish-defense-budget-42891982.html

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