Bill Richardson Announces Military Modernization Plan

New Mexico Governor and Democratic Presidential candidate Bill Richardson announced Wednesday a tremendously ambitious military modernization plan which “better prepares the American military to face the new challenges of the 21st century and returns the country to sound fiscal policy.”

The plan lists more than a dozen specific programs that can be cut, reduced, or delayed, which he claims “will give the United States $57.14 billion per year to reinvest in urgent domestic priorities.”

Among other things, the list includes:

• $8 billion from scaling back the National Missile Defense program.
• $3 billion from eliminating the Pentagon's ‘Space-Based Offensive Weapons'.
• $5 billion from eliminating the Reliable Replacement Warhead and Complex 2030 programs to develop new nuclear weapons.
• $8 billion from reducing the U.S. nuclear posture to 600 deployed warheads, with 400 in reserve and eliminating all "tactical" nuclear weapons.
  
• $540 million from canceling the Airborne Laser Program.

Richardson’s proposal also includes plans to increase the personnel end-strength of the Army and Marine Corps, the intelligence community, and special operations forces.