Representatives Ron Paul and Barney Frank argued on CNN’s “Situation Room” Wednesday that our military is over-stressed, over-deployed and believe that a significant withdrawal of troops stationed around the world could save the American people over a trillion dollars in 10 years. “It seems to me that the argument for us staying in Iraq [is to] solely mediate electoral disputes among the various political parties and religious groups,” Frank said. “It has no value.”
“We continue to subsidize the budgets of Western Europe,” Frank continued. “We are committed to defending America’s legitimate strategic interests,” he argued, but the military establishment has been projected into a situation “far beyond our needs”.
“We are fighting against a group of people who don’t have planes, tanks, ships, missiles or anything, Ron Paul argued. “[The Afghan war] makes no sense whatsoever. We don’t need to be the world’s police man. We are digging a hole for ourselves.”
Paul and Frank favor a worldwide reduction in U.S. military presence, arguing that the majority of military spending overseas to support the establishment and maintenance of these facilities has nothing to do with fighting terrorism or making the American people safer.
