Military Chiefs Urge Increase in Funding

U.S. military chiefs warned Congress that America’s defense spending must be quickly increased to replace aging Cold War weapons and bolster a slumping ability to fight and win two major wars at once. “We must find the resources necessary to modernize the force” of the world’s only remaining superpower, Army Gen. Henry H. Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Shelton and the commanders of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines said the readiness of front-line U.S. military units was good, but the cost of those units and growing deployments for peacekeeping and other tasks was threatening future security.