Abstract

The Hungry Beast Growls

The U.S. military-which spends about as much as the rest of the world's militaries combined-wants more money. Officers have been grousing for some time that they don't have what they need, but the lid came off in August when an internal memo by Deputy Defense Secretary John Deutch was leaked. Pay and housing had to be improved. And the budget for buying new weapons was slated to rise by 20 percent from fiscal years 1996 to 1999. In sum, the military wants more money. President Bill Clinton, who vowed to draw the line against anymore cuts in military spending this year, may well be tempted to throw more money at the Pentagon next year. But under the President's budget law, any money added to the military budget must come dollar for dollar out of domestic programs.