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| March 1, 2001 |
| March 1, 2001 |
Bush Administration Releases Budget Top-Lines
Christopher Hellman, Senior Analyst, chellman@cdi.org
On February 28 the Bush Administration released the first official information on its proposed Fiscal Year 2002 budget request. The document, "A Blueprint for New Beginnings: A Responsible Budget for America's Priorities," is a preliminary document outlining broad spending priorities for the federal government. The full budget proposal is expected to be released on April 3.
The Bush Administration is requesting $310.5 billion for the Defense Department in Fiscal Year 2002. They are also requesting $14.3 billion for the defense functions of the Department of Energy. In all, the Pentagon is seeking $324.8 billion in military spending, $14.2 billion more than this year. This is 4.6 percent above current levels, and represents the spending levels projected for FY'02 last year by the Clinton Administration.
As part of the proposed increase, the Administration is including $1.4 billion for pay and benefits and $400 million for improved housing. While this $400 million represents a roughly 10 percent increase in the current military housing budget of about $3.6 billion, it's only a down-payment for what will be necessary to solve the military's housing problems. According to the Defense Department, 200,000 of its housing units -- two-thirds of the entire military housing inventory -- are substandard.
The request also includes an additional $2.6 billion for research and development (R&D). This is the first installment of President Bush's promised $26 billion over ten years to speed the development of "generation after next" weaponry. The proposed increase would constitute a 7 percent rise in the current $39 billion R&D budget. According to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, $1 billion of the proposed increase will go to the development of missile defense technologies, although he has not specified how the money will be spent.
The Administration is also seeking additional military base closures, something that the Pentagon has requested -- and Congress denied -- for each of the past several years. In 1995, the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommended closing McClellan Air Force Base in California and Kelly Air Force Base in Texas, two critical electoral states. The Clinton Administration overruled the Commission and Congress, keeping the bases open through a program known as "privatization in place." Under this plan the government and private sector contractors compete for work to be performed at the two facilities. Since then, Congress has resisted any efforts to close additional military bases, claiming that the process had become too politicized. According to the Pentagon there is 23 percent surplus capacity among U.S. military facilities.
The response to the increases proposed by the Bush Administration make it clear that this is only the first round of the bidding. Proponents of higher Pentagon spending have indicated their disappointment with what they consider very modest increases, particularly given President Bush's rhetoric regarding his support for the military during the presidential campaign. Congress, which has added significantly to Pentagon spending requests in recent years, has yet to work its will. Additional new spending of $10 billion to $15 billion above the proposed increases is not unlikely.
For additional information, see "A Blueprint for New Beginnings: A Responsible Budget for America's Priorities." It is also available through the Government Printing Office.
Child Soldiers Released in Sudan, Still no U.S. Action
Rachel Stohl, Senior Analyst, rstohl@cdi.org
In a significant advance for the children's rights, over 2,500 children were released from combat zones in southern Sudan this week. The children, ages 8-18, had been used by the Southern People's Liberation Army (SPLA) which has been embroiled in civil conflict with Sudan's government since 1983. According to reports, a senior rebel official in the region, Elijah Malok, said that "about 30 percent of rebel forces are under 18. Many are orphans who fled to the SPLA camps after their parents were killed or were taken away as slaves. [Some children also mentioned seeking revenge on government armies that had killed their parents as reason for joining the SPLA.] The children are fed and cared for in the camps in return for collected firewood and cooking." Malok estimated that only 5 to 7 percent participate in active combat.
UN Spokesman Martin Dawes said the children were taken from the front-line areas in Bahr-el-Gazal Province to UNICEF camps near Rumbek. The children will live in UNICEF centers for approximately four months and will receive basic education, health, and psychological care. Dawes also said that UNICEF will try to reunite the children with their parents or extended families. Those whose parents cannot be found or who have been killed will be cared for by the Sudanese Relief and Rehabilitation Association, the civilian arm of the SPLA.
While this is a major advance for children in Sudan, UNICEF estimates that an additional 9,000 children remain as soldiers throughout the region. Around the world more than 300,000 children serve as soldiers in over 30 conflicts. These children serve in government forces, guerrilla armies, rebel opposition groups, and armed gangs. Child soldiers serve as messengers, cooks, porters, spies, sex slaves, as well as front line combatants.
The release of children in Sudan comes at the same time that the U.S. State Department released its annual Human Rights Report. The report contains information specific to the plight of children and their use as soldiers. In general comments regarding children around the world, the document reads, "Children are among the most vulnerable of any group in society and face particular threats to their human rights. Around the world, children face dangerous and unhealthy conditions.... In countries such as Colombia, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone, and Uganda, armed rebels force children to serve as soldiers or recruit them with promises or threats... Some improvements in the lives of children took place during the year, as some governments took steps to aid children and strengthen protection of their rights... In March several government agencies in the Philippines signed a memorandum of agreement on the handling and treatment of children involved in armed conflict, which treats child insurgents as victims to be rescued and rehabilitated, rather than as enemies to be neutralized and prosecuted. The United Nations opened two important documents for signature during the year: the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child Concerning Children in Armed Conflict and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child Concerning the Sale of the Child. NGO's also are extremely active in the field of children's rights throughout the world, advocating legal reform and providing services."
While the Report mentions the importance of the Optional Protocol, it is important to note that the United States has still not ratified the Protocol. The Protocol, which is a stand-alone treaty, raises the age for conscription and participation in conflict to 18 from the current international standard of 15 and requires governments to take "all feasible measures to ensure that members of their armed forces who have not attained the age of 18 years do not take a direct part in hostilities." The agreement does allow government armies to recruit children as young as 16 with parental consent. Rebel and guerilla armies are banned from recruiting or using children under the age of 18 in their military forces. Former President Clinton signed the Protocol in July, 2000 and it now awaits consideration by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In mid-February, more than 40 leaders of religious, veterans, human rights, child advocacy and other organizations called on President Bush and the members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to support U.S. ratification of the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. Letters to the President and members of the Committee stated that "United States leadership on this issue will send a clear message to governments and armed groups around the world that the use of children on the battlefield is unconscionable."
Defectors Claim Iraq Tested Nuclear Weapon -- The London Times is reporting that two former senior scientists in Iraq's nuclear program have stated that Iraq successfully tested a nuclear weapon prior to the Gulf War and now possesses a nuclear stockpile. The test allegedly occurred in September, 1989 beneath Lake Rezzaza, southwest of Baghdad. The blast was not detected because it was relatively small and muffled. The scientists claims have been corroborated by a former personal aide to Saddam Hussein's son Uday, who claims to have been in the test cavern prior to the test.
NATO To Reduce Buffer Zone Around Kosovo -- NATO leaders agreed to consider a phased reduction of the buffer zone separating Kosovo from Serbia. The 3-mile wide corridor, from which Serbian military forces are excluded by a 1999 Serbian-NATO agreement, has become a staging ground for attacks on Serbian government forces by ethnic Albanian extremists demanding independence from Serbia. Serbian authorities have repeatedly asked for the buffer zone to be reduced or eliminated. At a meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers in Brussels on February 27, NATO Secretary General George Robertson said that "it is...unacceptable for the Ground Safety Zone (GSZ) to be used as some kind of safe haven for extremists, so we are preparing for a phased and conditional reduction of the GSZ." NATO did add, however, that the GSZ reduction is contingent on the reduction of the Serbian military presence in the area.
Fighting Breaks Out in Macedonia -- Kosovo unrest spread to Macedonia this week as ethnic Albanian separatists clashed with Macedonian police in regions adjacent to Kosovo. Macedonia, a former Yugoslav republic, is predominantly Slavic but has a sizable ethnic Albanian majority. Until recently, the country has avoided the violence that has accompanied the separation of other Yugoslav republics. In recent weeks, however, Albanian militants began attacking Macedonian border checkpoints and other military installations. The fighting seems aimed at separating the majority ethnic Albanian territory from Macedonia and joining it with Kosovo, which is now de facto independent after separating from Yugoslavia in 1999.
Senators Introduce Base Closing Legislation -- Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Carl Levin (D-MI) have introduced legislation calling for two additional rounds of military base closures and realignments in 2003 and 2005. Senator Levin is ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, and Senator McCain is a staunch supporter of the military and is also a member of the Committee. President George Bush has requested additional base closures as part of his Fiscal Year 2002 budget proposal (See "Bush Administration Releases Budget Top-Lines" above.)
NMD Satellite Program May Exceed Budget, Schedule -- According to the General Accounting Office (GAO), the Air Forces's Spaced-Based Infrared System-low (SBIRS-low) satellite program will likely go over budget and exceed its schedule. The SBIRS-low network of 24 satellites is intended to detect missile launches and track the missiles in flight as part of the national missile defense program currently under development. According to the GAO "the Air Force's current SBIRS-low acquisition schedule is at a high risk of not delivering the system on time or at cost or with expected performance."
Quotation of the Week -- "I am requesting $5.7 billion in increased military pay and benefits and health care and housing. Our men and women in uniform give America their best, and we owe them our support," President George W. Bush, before a joint session of Congress, February 27, 2001.
This Week on America's Defense Monitor: "Small Arms and Failed States"
In Albania, thousands of guns taken in raids on state-owned arsenals created chaos. In Angola, the proliferation of light weaponry has triggered the collapse of a fragile peace accord. From Kosovo to Somalia, from Sierra Leone to Northern Ireland, the link between small arms and political collapse poses one of the true challenges to peace in the 21st Century. In many regions stopping the flow of small arms is a first step toward peace and stability.
Airs in Washington, DC on Sunday, March 4 at 10:30 a.m, on Channel 32.
Airs in NYC on Saturday, March 10 at 7:00 a.m. on Channel 13.
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