Spending For Defense

Editorial / LAWRENCE ROUT / Wall Street Journal 11apr02

If any topic cries out for more attention these days, it's defense spending. The numbers being proposed by the Bush administration -- and likely to face little opposition -- are staggering:

A 12% increase in the amount spent on weapons procurement and research and development for the next fiscal year.

A 48%, or $141 billion, increase in the Pentagon budget over the next five years.

Spending of $37.7 billion on homeland defense in the next fiscal year, almost double the current year's level.

So much money -- and surprisingly muted public debate over where all that money will go. But, as we detail in this report, there's a lot to talk about.

Should the increased spending, for instance, be geared toward new kinds of weapons that advance the military "transformation" that's so often talked about? Or are the Cold War weapons worth keeping around? What kind of missile-defense system do we need? Should U.S. military contractors take precedence over foreign companies? And what about the thousands of smaller companies hoping to get their share of the homeland-defense spending boom? How do you pick among them?

These are all tough issues -- made all the tougher by the sense of urgency many inside and outside the government feel since Sept. 11. But the decisions made now will have a profound impact for decades to come. The debate should be a vigorous one.