STANLEY DOWNPLAYS CALL TO INVEST 4 PERCENT OF GDP ON DEFENSE

摘要

Vice Adm. Stephen Stanley, the Joint Staff's director of force structure, resources and assessment (J-8), this week downplayed the call by some inside the Pentagon and out to spend 4 percent of gross domestic product on national defense.rnHistorically, the United States has been able to fund defense at about 4 percent of GDP, including during the Vietnam war, the Reagan administration's arms buildup and the first Gulf war, Stanley said during a May 11 Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association luncheon in Washington.rn"So we can afford that requirement," Stanley told the audience. "Now, should we fund at that level? Well, my perspective is no. I don't want us to spend one extra dollar on defense. I want to spend every dollar on defense that's required.