I was the Professor of Military Science at Hofstra University from 1988 to 1990. I was the guest speaker at a Memorial Day ceremony sponsored by the VFW in May of 1990, one month before I retired. The Soviet Union had dissolved and there were plans to down size the military because of the reduced threat. In my speech, I said that just because the Soviet Union was gone did not mean we had fewer enemies. The problem for the military is that they had used the Soviet Union and its vast arsenal as the justification for our large army. I suggested that we had many more enemies that the Soviets and that if we downsize, it would encourage them.
You will recall that 1990 was one year before Desert Storm and all the wars that followed, including the war on terrorism. Once again, we seem to be at that same crossroads. Just as we are about to declare victory in the war on terrorism, we see things like the Boston bombings happening. The
war on terrorism is not over. It may never be over. (http://clicktotweet.com/ffca_) I include North
Korea and Iran among the terrorists. Downsizing the military will encourage our enemies to be more active. We never seem to learn from history. (http://clicktotweet.com/0Oe9e )