Suppose a neighbor's house was on fire. Someone calls the fire department. The engine that rolls up is a converted army surplus M35 two-and-a-half-ton truck of Korean War vintage. The crew puts the fire out, but a reasonable person might wonder about the future safety of his home.
Now suppose a policeman came to the scene of this fire -- driving one of those squad cars just like the one in the "Blues Brothers" movie, a 1974 Dodge Monaco sedan. Now remember that the "Blues Brothers" premiered 36 years ago. John Belushi was still two years away from dying then.
Now imagine that a child of yours was a fireman or policeman. Wouldn't you want modern equipment to assist them in their tasks?
Don't stop there. Now imagine the city's public safety budget went through the roof and stayed there after a major fire downtown years ago, a fire that killed a lot of people. Now imagine fires have broken out every day since that epic blaze, all caused by a gang of arsonists the police are trying to catch. Every time they catch one, a new arsonist turns up.
Now, after all that, imagine the city kept a bone yard of old M35 trucks and Dodge Monacos because that was the only place left to get spare parts to keep it all running. The city cuts the maintenance and training budgets, too.
So a bunch of angry citizens go to city hall and demand to know where the money went. They find out, for instance, that much of it went to pay and train fire departments and policemen in other towns, but those crews run away ever time they see a fire or an arsonist. So the city fathers send their local fire and police departments to do the job in those other towns. The policemen and firemen are worn out because they've been doing this for 15 years.
The local mayor blamed the city council and the city council blamed the mayor. Oh, and the city council is divided, too. Half of them blamed the other half and insisted the only solution was to throw the other half out in the next election.
None of this is funny because it's happening. The first B-52 bomber took off on April 15, 1952. Some man young enough to be my son will fly into combat soon over the Middle East in an aircraft design seven years older than I am.
The F-15 fighter first flew in July 1972, the month I became a teenager.
Meanwhile, we spend $7.4 billion a year on an agency that left 450 people stranded at the Chicago airport for hours. Those civilians and millions more a year board fine, modern airplanes in peacetime flights.
We spent more than $11 billion last year training and equipping security forces worldwide. Directly or indirectly, 180 countries benefited. I did the math. About 12 or so countries on the planet didn't get some of our largess for "counter-terrorism."
We have 5 percent fewer troops in uniform than we did before Sept. 11, 2001.
The U.S. hasn't had a round of military base closings since 2005. Last month, the Defense Department meekly suggested we might ought to consider closing some. The House Armed Services Committee chairman angrily responded that he wanted proof such a step was needed. OK. Here it is: We haven't closed any since 2005, our troop strengths have shrunk steadily since and we urgently need new equipment and spare parts.
Monday is Memorial Day, a day we commemorate sacrifices. Let's also remember what those sacrifices are for. There's only one thing worth the lives of people pledged to the defense of the rest of us. We should waste no time, money or lives on anything else.
There really is no substitute for victory. That's not a phrase to use lightly, for it was made famous by a man who wanted to start World War III in Korea. But we won the Korean War. It wasn't the total "victory" zealots dream of. It was something better. We were stronger and our enemies were weaker when that war ended. Real victory is exactly that, not unifying Korea for our side at any cost. Real victory in war consists of growing stronger while making the enemy weaker -- every day -- until you can get an acceptable peace.
We're in a grind. One side realizes this. We don't.
Commentary on 05/28/2016