Former Vice President Dick Cheney responded Monday night to the Obama administration’s proposal to cut the U.S. Army to its lowest point since before World War II.
Calling into Fox News’ “Hannity,” Cheney declared the proposed cuts to be “absolutely dangerous” and “just devastating.”
“I have not been a strong supporter of Barack Obama. But this really is over the top. It does enormous long-term damage to our military,” Cheney said. “They act as though it is like highway spending and you can turn it on and off. The fact of the matter is he is having a huge impact on the ability of future presidents to deal with future crises that are bound to arise.”
Cheney also said America’s allies are losing confidence in the United States and that the president’s budget reflects his priorities.
“The other thing I now for a fact too, Sean, from keeping in touch with some of my old friends that I used to deal with in the Middle East — they no longer have any confidence at all in American security guarantees,” he said. “They’re absolutely convinced that they can no longer trust the United States to keep its commitments — that includes the Israelis, Saudis, a lot of others in that part of the world.”
“They peddle this line that now we’re going to pivot to Asia, but they’ve never justified it,” he added. “And I think the whole thing is not driven by any change in world circumstances, it is driven by budget considerations. He would much rather spend the money on food stamps than he would on a strong military or support for our troops.”
