Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

McCain: Political Leaders To Blame For Unprepared Military
Urges Personnel, Procurement, and Strategy Reform
Vows End to "Food Stamp Army"

NEW YORK, NY—Republican presidential candidate U.S. Senator John McCain today marked Pearl Harbor Day with a speech outlining his national security policies and delivered a stark warning to America's political leaders: the United States does not have the modern, ready forces to meet threats to America's interest and values in the 21st Century. McCain advocated the elimination of federal income taxes for overseas military personnel, and an additional 9% pay raise over three years to close the pay gap. The speech, delivered this evening at the USS Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum where McCain received the 1999 Intrepid Freedom Award, is the second in a series of major policy addresses McCain will deliver before the end of the year.

"It's time to end the disingenuous practice of stating that we have a two-war strategy when we are paying for only a one-war military. Either we must change our strategy—and accept the risks—or we must properly fund and structure our military," said McCain. "I believe the American public wants the simple truth—tell us the strategy to ensure our security, and tell us what it will cost and how you'll pay for it."

"If I am the next President, I will end the days of a foodstamp Army once and for all," said McCain. McCain spoke about struggling military families on food stamps, reductions in military personnel, and the demands of excessive deployments as a testament to an overburdened American military being driven to a breaking point. Less than a month ago, the Pentagon revealed that no Army division was rated fully mission-ready, and that two of its 10 divisions were rated unprepared for war.

"The fault lies not with those who serve, nor with their uniformed leadership. It rests with political leaders, on both sides of the aisle...who ask the military to do too much with too little, and who misdirect scarce defense dollars to their political priorities, rather than to vital defense needs," said McCain. "Every dollar stolen to keep open unnecessary defense installations to spare politicians an issue that might cloud their next election is one less dollar for the modern equipment needed to win wars and save lives. Heroes deserve better service from us than that."

McCain pledged to prioritize American national defense needs, placing ballistic missile defense at the top of his agenda.

"It's time we tell our friends and adversaries alike, that ballistic missile defense is now a national priority, not just another Pentagon program," said McCain. Referring to Russian and Chinese complaints that the deployment of American missile defenses would violate the 1972 ABM Treaty, McCain stated, "we should sit down with Russia and see whether the ABM Treaty can be altered to permit both of our countries to respond to ballistic missile threats. But I want to be candid with you - if these talks fail, I will do what is right for the security of millions of Americans and for global strategic stability. I will withdraw from a treaty that has become a relic of the Cold War if it cannot be made relevant to our current security needs."

McCain also listed several actions the next President must take to rebuild the military, and ensure that the United States is prepared for the challenges of the 21st Century. The first mission is to restore credibility abroad—as the only world superpower, America must never again make insincere promises or idle threats. Second, he must restore the bond of trust with the servicemen and women that take up arms to defend the United States. Third, he must restructure U.S. forces to utilize lighter, more flexible, and rapidly deployable forces and establish realistic readiness measures to better face the threats of the coming century. And finally, he must modernize U.S. forces to maintain a decisive edge on the battlefield and preserve technological superiority.

"The defense budget passed by Congress this year, like every other in recent memory, was a disgrace, crammed with over $6 billion of wasteful spending unrequested by the military," said McCain. "Fully funding our defense requires that we aggressively eliminate wasteful defense spending and I've identified nearly $20 billion that must be redirected to high priority needs. Our defense budget must be driven by our security needs, not vice versa. We must spend whatever it takes—not one penny more nor one penny less. For too long we have asked our armed services to do much more with much less. Now is the time to give them enough."

A text of the speech is available at www.mccain2000.com or through the press office, which can be reached at 703-837-9723.