CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS

No Defense for Cheney

Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to deliver a speech in Missouri today attacking his political opponents for supposedly trying to cut defense spending in the 1980s and early 1990s. Yet, a look back at the record shows it was Cheney who repeatedly tried to cut defense spending at this time, even publicly attacking a president of his own party. During the height of Cold War tensions, it was Cheney who told the Washington Post on 12/16/84 that if President Reagan, "doesn't really cut defense, he becomes the No. 1 special pleader in town." Cheney said "the president has to reach out and take a whack at everything to be credible" and said that absent a raid of Social Security or a tax increase, "you've got to hit defense." Six years later, on 2/1/90, it was Cheney who proudly told Congress "since I became Secretary, we've been through a fairly major process of reducing the defense budget." He bragged that during the first year of his tenure, he "cut almost $65 billion out of the five-year defense program" and that subsequent proposals would "take another $167 billion out." He trumpeted the fact that "we're recommending base closures," "we're talking about force structure cuts" and "we've got a military construction freeze." And as the 8/4/91 NY Times noted, Cheney tried "to reduce active-duty troop strength" from 2.2 million to 1.6 million while making "deep cuts in the Reserves and National Guard" – a move that is now, in part, forcing the military to extend tours of duty and increase the combat burden on reservists. See an analysis of defense spending by American Progress's Larry Korb.

CHENEY ATTACKS WEAPONS CUTS AFTER CUTTING WEAPONS: In a similar speech attacking opponents earlier this year, Cheney claimed his opponents have "repeatedly voted against weapons systems for the military," including "voting against the Apache helicopter." Yet in 1990 Cheney bragged to Congress about weapons "programs that I have recommended for termination," including fighter jets, the Phoenix missile and "the Apache helicopter." Cheney also this year criticized opponents for voting "against even the Bradley Fighting Vehicle." But according to the Chicago Tribune, it is the Bush administration who is "dramatically reducing the number of Abrams tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles in Iraq," even as the fighting intensifies. That means more troops are forced to "ride in lightly protected Humvees, trucks and troop carriers" which are much more vulnerable to attack. As former Gen. Barry McCaffrey said, "This is high-intensity combat. If you have got a chance to fight this with Bradley Fighting Vehicles or fight this without them, you would be crazy to be fighting without them."

CHENEY ATTACKS TROOP PAY CUT AFTER TRYING TO CUT TROOP PAY: Earlier this year, Cheney criticized opponents for supposedly being a "reliable vote against military pay increases." Yet, as the San Francisco Chronicle pointed out, it was the Bush Administration last year which tried "to cut the pay of its 148,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, who already are contending with guerrilla-style attacks, homesickness and 120-degree-plus heat." As the Army Times noted, the White House "announced that on Oct. 1 it wants to roll back recent modest increases in monthly imminent-danger pay (from $225 to $150) and family-separation allowance (from $250 to $100) for troops getting shot at in combat zones." Additionally, the White House "proposed capping pay raises" for various soldiers as a cost-cutting measure. Only when the effort became "a political embarrassment" did "the White House quickly backpedal" from the proposal.

DEFENSE CONTRACTS GEARED TOWARDS INDUSTRY NOT TROOPS: Even as Cheney claims the Bush administration is most committed to a strong defense, its defense spending decisions appear more focused on showering largesse on defense contractor cronies rather than on pressing national security needs. For instance, at the same time the White House is ignoring military commander's desperate calls for funding to fill shortfalls in "bolt-on vehicle armor, combat helmets, night sights and body armor," it is pressing ahead with a $9 billion missile defense plan, even as the government reports that the plan is untested and not ready for deployment. Similarly, the president "personally asked his aides to work out a deal" to circumvent traditional procurement rules and give Boeing a leasing deal that will "cost hundreds of millions to several billions of dollars more than it should." And it was the White House who, under pressure from defense contractors, revived its plan to build the Crusader weapons system, which it previously claimed was outdated. Meanwhile, the administration has refused to adequately monitor the funds being spent in Iraq, fueling billions in "corruption and inflated cost to taxpayers" – much of it going to Cheney's old firm Halliburton.

BATHING CAMPAIGN DONORS IN CASH WHILE STIFFING TROOPS: A look at who finances the president's political campaigns offers insight into the Bush administration's decisions to underfund basic troop equipment while pouring cash into untested, overpriced, outdated, or unregulated defense contracts. For instance, the missile defense program includes massive defense contracts for two of Bush's major campaign and party contributors, Northrop Grumman (more than $900,000 to Bush/allies) and Lockheed Martin (more than $1.2 million to Bush/allies). Lockheed, in particular, has a special connection to Bush: the company's Vice President, Bruce Jackson, "served as financial chair and fundraiser for Bush's presidential campaign" and, at a 1999 conference, bragged that he would personally "write the Republican platform" on defense if the Texas governor made it to the Oval Office. Similarly, Boeing received the sweetheart lease deal after sending more than $800,000 to Bush and his allies. Even the administration's abandonment of plans to cut the Crusader can be traced to financial connections: the company that reaps the most from the continuation of the weapon is the Carlyle Group – the firm that employs, among others, the president's father and former Secretary of State James Baker.

WOMEN'S RIGHTS
Throngs Protest Bush Policies

Hundreds of thousands of people marched on the Mall in Washington, DC, yesterday to voice their support for women's health and reproductive rights, and their opposition to President Bush's extremist agenda. While Bush tries to present himself as a moderate on women's issues – openly saying that America is not ready for a total ban on abortions – he has quietly pursued an aggressive agenda to restrict a women's right to choose. Since taking office, Bush has stopped funding overseas family planning clinics that provide abortion counseling, withheld millions from the United Nations Population Fund based on the fear mongering of anti-choice zealots and signed into law the first ban of an abortion procedure since Roe v. Wade. Most recently, Bush moved toward federal recognition of the fetus as a person – an important step in the effort to ban abortion – by making it a separate crime to kill a fetus of a pregnant women. The throngs of protestors yesterday had a simple message for the president – stop attacking women's rights. Read American Progress coverage of the March for Women's Lives. Also, read some perspectives of men and women advocating women's rights, and learn more about the issue.

KAREN HUGHES LIKENS SUPPORT OF ABORTION RIGHTS TO TERRORISM: Top presidential advisor Karen Hughes hit the airwaves yesterday to spin the demonstrations for the administration. Her message: those who support a women's right to choose have the same moral values as terrorists. Appearing on CNN, Hughes said that Americans support Bush's efforts to restrict abortion, especially after 9/11, because "the fundamental issue between us and the terror network we fight is that we value every life." (Curiously, Hughes' quote, included in an earlier internet version of a NYT story covering the March, was stripped from the story before it went to press). This isn't the first time that the administration has used the terrorism label to attack its political opponents. In February, Secretary of Education Rod Paige called the National Education Association – a labor organization of 2.7 million teachers – a "terrorist organization" because it opposed the Administration's implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act.

ANTI-CHOICE LEADER COMPARES MARCHERS TO HITLER SYMPATHIZERS: Randall Terry, president of the anti-abortion group Society for Truth and Justice compared those participating in the rally to Hitler supporters. Appearing on CNN Sunday Morning, Terry said "These celebrities who have attached their names to [the march], their names are going to have a certain amount of shame with it. Remember, Adolf Hitler in the mid '30s had really big crowds and had a lot of famous people saying he was a great guy. It didn't do him much good in 1945."

CHENEY REVEALS THE ADMINISTRATION'S TRUE COLORS: In a transparent attempt to broaden his appeal, President Bush carefully parses words when speaking about abortion. Yesterday, for example, his spokesman Taylor Gross said the president was committed to creating a "culture of life" in America. Vice President Cheney is less subtle about articulating the administration's true agenda. Speaking to an anti-abortion group last week, Cheney called efforts to ban abortion "a great movement of conscience." He labeled the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision an act of "raw judicial power." And while he acknowledged "America still has some distance to travel," Cheney expressed confidence that efforts to ban abortion in America would eventually be successful.

BUSH WITHDRAWS FROM GLOBAL EFFORTS TO IMPROVE WOMEN'S HEALTH: The administration's anti-abortion orthodoxy has led to America's near complete withdrawal from international efforts to bolster reproductive health. Today the U.S. Agency for International Development is expected to announce it is "scrapping plans to sponsor a major global health and reproductive rights conference." The move came after conservatives in Congress complained that some pro-choice groups were planning on having a presence at the conference.

CHOICE UNDER ATTACK ON STATE LEVEL: While Bush and Cheney have led the anti-abortion charge in Washington, likeminded conservatives have been even more successful restricting abortion on the state level. Over the last 9 years states "have enacted 450 laws restricting access to abortion by imposing waiting periods, requiring parental consent or notification for minors seeking an abortion, and setting stricter regulatory policies for medical clinics."







LEGAL – CHENEY'S ENERGY AIDE BECAME ENERGY LOBBYIST: The Boston Globe reports "the executive director of Vice President Dick Cheney's energy task force...became an energy lobbyist just months after leaving the White House." 9 months after the task force completed its work Andrew Lundquist "was a registered lobbyist for companies that stood to benefit from the energy policy he helped craft." Lundquist's clients paid him more than $300,000. Cheney's persistent refusal to disclose information about the task force has created a string of litigation that culminates tomorrow with oral arguments before the Supreme Court. (American Progress has co-authored an amicus brief arguing that Cheney's refusal to release the task force's records is improper).

IRAQ – WOODWARD SAYS SAUDI PRINCE IS LYING: Journalist Bob Woodward said on CNN that "Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan's assertions that he did not learn of President Bush's decision to launch war on Iraq before Secretary of State Colin Powell are false." Bandar said on Larry King Live last week "Both Vice President Cheney and Secretary Rumsfeld told me before the briefing that the president has not made a decision yet, but here is the plan." Woodward set the facts straight: "In this meeting you have the secretary of defense saying -- according to the secretary of defense's own words – 'you can take this to the bank; this is going to happen.'"

MEDIA – THE DOUBLE STANDARD: When former NYT writer Jayson Blair was exposed as a serial plagiarizer last year columnists and writers such as Andrew Sullivan, Richard Cohen and Jennifer Harper lamented that Blair, who is African-American, had advanced so far because of "favoritism based on race." But four months after USA Today foreign correspondent Jack Kelley was exposed for committing similar improprieties none of them have asked the question: "What does this mean for the future of white journalism?" Miami Herald columnist Leonard Pitts picks up the slack. Pitts provocatively asks: " Did USA Today advance a moderately capable journalist because he was white? Did some white editor mentor him out of racial solidarity even though Kelley was unqualified? In light of this fiasco, should we re-examine the de facto affirmative action that gives white men preferential treatment in our newsrooms?"

ECONOMY – LONG-TERM PROBLEMS PERSIST: Although March was a good month for job creation, new Labor Department data reveals "that the problems of the long-term unemployed — those out of work 27 weeks or more — appeared to grow worse." According to an analysis of the data released by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), "in March about 354,000 jobless workers exhausted their regular benefits without being able to receive additional federal aid," a number which "eclipsed the record high that was set just two months ago, in January 2004." There have been nearly 1.5 million "exhaustees" since late December, "when the federal program designed to help the long-term unemployed began phasing out." This is a troubling indicator, the CBPP concludes, suggesting "that the welcome news that jobs grew by 308,000 in March has yet to have had much of a spillover benefit to the long-term unemployed. To the contrary, the same labor market report showing the March jobs growth also showed, if anything, an increase in long-term unemployment."

IRAQ – TOP GENERAL SAYS MORE TROOPS NEEDED: When Gen. Eric K. Shinseki said before the war "that several hundred thousand troops would be needed in postwar Iraq," he was told his estimate was "wildly off the mark" by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. But nearly a year after the president declared that "major combat operations in Iraq" had ended, the top United States commander in the Middle East is prepared to request an increase in troops. "The Pentagon has already extended by 90 days the tours of 20,000 soldiers" that were scheduled to return to their home bases after a year in Iraq and now, the NYT reports Gen. John Abizaid said Friday that "he was likely to ask for another extension in the current troop levels in Iraq, now at 135,000, and might even ask for more troops beyond that." The commander general "said the security situation was liable to worsen as June 30 approached, and with it the return of self-rule to Iraq. He cited the likelihood of new insurgent attacks against American troops and doubts about the current reliability of Iraqi security forces."

TERRORISM – BUSH ADMINISTRATION 'PAYING NO ATTENTION': The Chicago Reader reports L. Paul Bremer, the senior Coalition official in Iraq, had this to say about the Bush administration in late February, 2001: "The new administration seems to be paying no attention to the problem of terrorism. What they will do is stagger along until there's a major incident and then suddenly say, 'Oh, my God, shouldn't we be organized to deal with this?' That's too bad. They've been given a window of opportunity with very little terrorism now, and they're not taking advantage of it. Maybe the folks in the press ought to be pushing a little bit." Bremer, who served as President Reagan's ambassador-at-large for counterterrorism, and sat on a commission which explored the issue in 1999, chided the media among others for not paying attention: "There's been remarkably little attention to the major recommendation the Gilmore Commission made for a substantial reorganization of the government's approach to terrorism," Bremer said. "Journalists shouldn't let politicians get away with that."




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