Victory on the C-17, but concerns remain
Senate Appropriates Committee conferees, who today secured funding for 10 additional C-17 airlifters, are to be commended for recognizing the inadvisability of terminating the production line of the Nation’s only highly capable, heavy-lift transport aircraft. At this stage of the global War for the Free World, to do otherwise would have been exceedingly costly.
Similarly, Senator Jim Talent – whose position on the Armed Services Committee afforded him significant influence on this issue – is to be applauded for his leadership in ensuring the extension of the C-17’s production line. As Sen. Talent explained, "There are few systems more important to our armed forces than this aircraft. The C-17 is the transport of choice, able to carry troops, vehicles and supplies to any point on the globe making its reliability and versatility unmatched." This view matches that expressed recently in a Washington Times column by Center for Security Policy President Frank J. Gaffney, Jr., who cautioned against shutting down production of the C-17, observing that "this plane is an indispensable part of America’s ability to project power."
Despite today’s victory, the Center for Security Policy remains concerned about the inadequate attention being paid by many in Washington to the necessity of providing for a robust defense industrial base and hot production lines operated by reliable suppliers to meet America ‘s present and prospective war material needs. A failure to redress this shortsightedness invites potential calamitous shortfalls in the equipment capabilities upon which both our men and women in uniform and our Nation as a whole depend for the future. The obvious, and probably growing, need for the kind of power projection made possible by C-17 airlifters should compel a careful reassessment of the defense industrial base’s capacity to meet such needs over the long haul.
Unfortunately, evidence of the gravity of the problem continues to mount, as planners, policymakers and corporate boardrooms alike continue to demonstrate a preference for short-term profits over long-term security in the face of this growing challenge. Dangerous and historically ignorant are apt descriptions of policies that fail to invest in the U.S. military in peacetime. But failing to invest sufficiently in our defense capabilities in time of war is reckless in the extreme. At some point, such behavior breeds not just defeatism. It assures defeat.
Mr. Gaffney is the host of Secure Freedom Radio, a nationally-syndicated radio program heard weeknights throughout the country. He is an associate author of highly acclaimed Shariah: The Threat to America and the publisher of over a dozen other books and monographs from the Center for Security Policy Press.
In April 1987, Mr. Gaffney was nominated by President Reagan to become the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Policy, the senior position in the Defense Department with responsibility for policies involving U.S.-USSR relations, nuclear forces, arms control, missile defense policy and U.S.-European defense ties. He acted in that capacity for seven months during which time, he was the Chairman of the prestigious High Level Group, NATO’s senior politico-military committee. He also represented the Secretary of Defense in key U.S.-Soviet negotiations and ministerial meetings.
From August 1983 until November 1987, Mr. Gaffney was the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear Forces and Arms Control Policy under Assistant Secretary Richard Perle.
From February 1981 to August 1983, Mr. Gaffney was a Professional Staff Member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by the late Senator John Tower (R-Texas). And, in the latter 1970’s, Mr. Gaffney served as an aide to the late Senator Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson (D-Washington) in the areas of defense and foreign policy.
Mr. Gaffney holds a Master of Arts degree in International Studies from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Mr. Gaffney’s leadership has been recognized by numerous organizations including: the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award (1987), the U.S. Business and Industry Council’s Defender of the National Interest Award (1994), the Navy League of the United States’ Alfred Thayer Mahan Literary Achievement Award (1999), and the Zionist Organization of America’s “Louis Brandeis Award” (2003), the Western Conservative Summit’s Stephen H. Long Award (2015), the Council for National Policy’s George Washington Military Leadership Award (2016) and the IMPACT Award from Ginni Thomas and United in Purpose (2017).
Mr. Gaffney was born in 1953 and resides in the Washington, D.C. area.
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