Cheney Cautions Clinton on Military Cuts
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NEW YORK — Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney had some words of advice for President-elect Bill Clinton on Wednesday--don’t cut the military too fast.
“We prevailed in the Cold War, I’m convinced, by keeping sufficient military forces,” Cheney told a dinner of the Business Executives for National Security, a group of Manhattan business leaders.
“It could not have happened this quickly if we had not maintained our forces,” he said.
The outgoing secretary said the next four years under Clinton will be the most challenging and “most complex” in terms of defense spending and foreign policy.
“Decisions made now will shape military forces for the next 10 to 15 years,” he said.
Cheney said he was concerned that an armed forces reduction might occur too quickly.
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