U.S. should cut military spending

To the editor:

Republican candidates proclaim their goal of saving us by conquering ISIS. Their solution - increase the military. They profess to be fiscal conservatives. But much military planning is obsolete. Aircraft carriers cost a trillion dollars to build, man and support. Yet can be sunk with one or two missiles. Bombers cost multimillions. Obsolete for future small target missions. Super fast, million-dollar fighters lack opponents. Yet, cheap drones and controlled missiles hit targets efficiently.

Russia's economic downfall was hastened by a losing war in Afghanistan. We should not follow the same path. We need to 'right' size our military to handle small outbreaks with small directed attacks. Should we fear terrorists? Yes. But in perspective more people were killed in Iowa last year by automobiles than by terrorists in Europe and the U.S. Don't let fear control our efforts. We need to redefine goals such as protect water, electrical, transportation. Our goals should not be to solve centuries-old problems with a single solution. Let's rethink our goals.

Cut military spending by making the military more efficient, effective - the right size. Industry did it. Now apply their techniques to military. Ask the candidates, what is your plan to right size the military, to cut expenses and focus on the critical?

Richard Zehrbach

Solon