The Commercial Argument

ADM Willard has his own set of talking points in the context of budget cuts, and they appear to make other arguments seem feeble in comparison.

“We feel strongly that the decisions that we make should be strategy-driven, so how do you think of our global commitments - strategically - and where the priorities ought to be placed?” said Willard, in an interview Monday at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography in San Diego during a short visit to the region. “I think Secretary Panetta is like-minded in this. He is reviewing this within the Washington environment. We are going to have those discussions.

“And in that debate, I think the Asia-Pacific region does very well, because of the economic importance that is obvious throughout the Asia-Pacific. The U.S. interest in the region very strong,” he said.

“I can’t imagine...the Asia-Pacific region wouldn’t hold high marks in terms of any global strategic view of where U.S. interests reside,” he added.

Some $5.3 trillion of commerce transits the waters of the South China region alone, and “1.2 (trillion) of that is U.S. annual trade,” Willard said. “This is the center of gravity for the global economy right now, and PACOM is there to protect it.”

The defense budget debate is ultimately about fixing our governments finances to get the economy moving. Nice to see a military leader talking apples and apples in this discussion.