China Will Dominate Western Pacific if Military Cuts Pass, Says Super PAC

Cuts being proposed in the defense budget “will be the greatest tragedy of the Obama administration,” former congressman Duncan L. Hunter said Tuesday in launching a new super PAC and national association dedicated to America’s security and national defense.

Hunter, father of the current congressman and former chair of the House Armed Services Committee, made his comments at a press conference overlooking the USS Midway in San Diego, said Fight 4 America.

 “The cuts will result in 200,000 soldiers and Marines being cut, Navy ships being reduced to the point that China will become dominant in the Western Pacific and leaving American military personnel with inadequate equipment for years to come,” Hunter said, according to a news release.

Fight 4 America’s national board of directors includes Air Force veteran Will Bennett, Marine Corps veterans Shawn Bryan and Joe “Doc” Worley, Army Veteran and West Point graduate Thomas D. Dyer and political consultant Ed Rollins, who served as President Ronald Reagan’s national campaign director.

“Those of us who served believe it is our duty to inform the public about the dangers posed to our nation and to the men and women currently serving, if these massive defense cuts become a reality,” Bryan said.

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Investment in our national defense stands well below the historical average, the news release stated. Through the process of sequestration, President Obama and some in Congress have discussed cutting our defenses even more—to levels lower than before World War II.
 

“America’s security must never become a bargaining chip in budget negotiations,” Hunter stated at the news conference.
 

If sequestration were to occur, Fight 4 America says the reductions in defense would mean:

• The smallest ground force since 1940.
• A fleet of fewer than 230 ships, the smallest level since 1915.
• The smallest tactical fighter force in Air Force history.

Hunter formerly represented the 52nd Congressional District of East and North San Diego County, which encompasses East County and some inland areas of North County. His son Duncan D. Hunter succeeded him and also serves on the House Armed Services Committee.

Fight 4 America’s SuperPac will actively engage in the 2012 presidential election nationally and in targeted swing states, according to its news release. The group has produced three TV commercials.

Automatic cuts in defense spending could begin in January if certain budgetary targets aren't met, part of agreements between the president and congressional leaders last year that averted a government shutdown.

Last week, the House passed a $642 billion National Defense Authorization Act that was $8 billion over the agreed amount. After it was passed, Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego, released a statement expressing concerns over how the gap will be bridged.

“While a number of decisions were made to restore cuts from the president’s budget, we will need to resolve this difference at some point,” Davis said. “This means that programs will need to be cut. My hope is that the pay and benefits of our brave men and women will not be the bill payer when we must reduce spending in this bill.”

The House version included a 1.7 percent military pay increase, which she praised.

One Fight 4 America television ad has a narrator explaining the impact of defense cuts while video shows the stars and stripes being lowered and replaced with a white flag.

A second ad focuses on President Obama’s off-the-cuff comment to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that he would have more flexibility on the contentious missile defense shield after the November general election.

The third explains the threat from Iran and North Korea and says now is not the time to reduce defense spending.

The PACs mission statement says the organization wants to keep “America's defenses strong, ready and able to defend our nation's interests, and to ensure that the men and women in uniform who defend our country should be the best equipped, trained and supported in the world.”

Spokesman Tony Manolatos said Fight 4 America expects to be around long after the November election—serving as a watchdog, holding the president and Congress accountable, and supporting national security and the nation’s military personnel.

City News Service contributed to this report.