The Pentagon budget lags behind the real cost of meeting the United States' military obligations "in a world that is growing increasingly dangerous," a former government economist told
Newsmax TV on Tuesday.
The result is a perception of American weakness and an inability to honor our signed commitments to protect allies, Manhattan Institute scholar Diana Furchtgott-Roth told "MidPoint" host Ed Berliner.
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"We are talking about walking away and leaving [allies] defenseless," said Furchtgott-Roth, director of the institute's Economics21 center for economic policy, and a former Council of Economic Advisers chief of staff under President George W. Bush.
The flatlined military spending is also hampering America's ability to police the volatile Middle East, said Furchtgott-Roth.
"Right now, we only have one aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf," she said. "We need two aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf at the very least, in order to provide a base to conduct those attacks that President Obama was talking about on ISIS. All these things cost money."
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