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Article: New arms for a new world.(United States)(President Bush is promising the biggest shake-up in American defence policy for decades. Good luck to him)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 17, 2001
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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"HOORAH!" cheered the camouflaged soldiers, lined up on the freezing parade ground of Cottrell Field, Fort Stewart, Georgia, as President George Bush, on his first trip as commander-in-chief, promised an extra $5.7 billion for military pay and comforts, and $2.6 billion more for research and development. To the cynics, it looked like classic policy-avoidance by photo-opportunity, especially when it turned out that only $1 billion of the money for pay was actually new, and since Mr Bush is asking for only a tiny immediate increase in the defence budget pencilled in for this year by Bill Clinton. In fact, the cynics look wrong.
Behind the photo-ops, the Bush ...