Defense Secretary Gates' Swan Song at American Enterprise Institute

In his column, "Gates' Verdict: Pentagon's Biggest Enemy Is Itself," Michael Barone explains our basic problem with the Dept. of Defense in a nutshell. "Peace" advocates smugly assume that every penny spent on defense is money wasted, but that is too simplistic. National defense is one governmental function that is CONSTITUTIONALLY MANDATED, which is more than one can say about education, welfare, the EPA, OSHA, and many other agencies that have been created over the years. Any cuts to this vital operation should perform liposuction on the fat instead of cutting away at the meat, which has been a specialty of Democratic presidents such as Jimmy Carter.