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2016 Election

The Hillary Clinton Defense Plan: Leanin’ to the Right

Screen Shot 2016 06 13 at 11.52.58 AM
Screen Shot 2016 06 13 at 11.52.58 AM

The Hillary Clinton defense plan is far from being dovish by Democrat standards.

As the former senator of New York and secretary of state to President Obama, she has been consistently favorable of strengthening military muscle in a way that involves diplomacy and technology, as well as the more traditional boots on the ground. Those efforts don’t come without a significant price tag.

A pro-military Democrat

Politico reported that of all 2016 primary candidates, Clinton’s campaign has received the most donations — at least $454,994 — from people who work with the 50 largest Department of Defense contractors. In the 14 months preceding February 2016, Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, and Gov. John Kasich had collectively received nearly $100,000 less than Clinton did alone.

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Clinton’s reputation among defense contractors can be attributed to her right-of-center, interventionist stance. In a statement made during her 2007 debate against then-Sen. Barack Obama in Las Vegas, she defined national defense as the president’s top priority and explained why she believes it’s paramount to the promotion of human rights.

“The first obligation of the president of the US is to protect and defend the US,” she said. “That doesn’t mean that it is to the exclusion of other interests.”

And before that, in 2002, she voted in favor of the Iraq war resolution, though she expressed regret years later. During the war, however, she told Fox News’ Chris Wallace that the United States should have sent in more troops during the beginning stages. According to her, even top Pentagon officials opposed the idea.

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“I’m supporting an effort to increase the end strength of the Army, increase the size of the military,” Clinton added. “It is expensive, but I don’t think we have any alternatives.”

Most recently, Clinton’s campaign website advocates for eliminating military spending caps to ensure that veterans receive the assistance they need. Though the suggestion was made on behalf of veterans’ interests, ending the sequestering of funds could allow for increased spending in other areas within the Department of Defense. 

Spending in Syria

The Syrian refugee crisis has put pressure on the United States to become more highly involved in the nearly failed state. In an interview with CBS News, Clinton said she believes President Obama should have promoted a more aggressive military response in Syria to prevent a vacuum from being created and ultimately filled by jihadists.

Though her national defense views are more hawkish than those of President Obama, she’s emphasized the need for strict organization and strong direction. In other words, she believes that heightened military involvement doesn’t have to entail reckless national defense spending.

Promote “smart power”

In Clinton’s opinion, the $1 trillion modernization of a nuclear arsenal isn’t a smart investment in this day and age. Rather than maintain a Cold War mentality, Clinton said she would consider reallocating those funds towards more modern weapons that could be used against ISIS, as reported by the New York Times.

In September 2015, she called for the creation of a special high-level commission to investigate how national defense funding is being used, in the hopes that a thorough analysis could ultimately lead to greater efficacy and spending efficiency.

 

“I think we are overdue for a very thorough debate in our country about what we need, and how we are going to pay for it,” she explained. “Very often, leadership of the Defense Department wants to eliminate certain spending, or wants to change it, and they’re stopped by the Congress.”

Clinton’s willingness to alter the military budget reflects her shift to a “smart power” approach to national defense. Though she’s historically supported an active military, she’s also stressed the importance of diplomacy and alternate avenues of defense. In her 2014 book Hard Choices, the candidate explained why she adopted the approach:

Beyond the traditional work of negotiating treaties and attending diplomatic conferences, we had to – among other tasks – engage activists on social media, help determine energy pipeline routes, limit carbon emissions, encourage marginalized groups to participate in politics, stand up for universal human rights, and defend common economic rules of the road. Our ability to do these things would be crucial measures of our national power.

Our take  

Clinton has yet to outline a specific defense-spending plan that includes dollar signs. However, that could change in the near future now that she’s become the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee.

Though her economic policies suggest the Democratic Party is moving further left, the same can’t be said for her outlook on national defense. The former secretary of state’s prioritization of military strength, which is unusually conservative for a Democrat, inherently renders military spending cuts unlikely.

However, her commission on national defense spending suggests that she believes some changes must be made. Most likely, these changes would involve reallocating funds within the Department of Defense to modernize military efforts against ISIS.

 

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Header image: Getty

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