Gates warns against cutting military

MILWAUKEE, Aug. 31 (UPI) -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a national veterans group Tuesday the United States shouldn't bank any peace dividend reaped as it winds down the Iraq war.

Addressing the American Legion in Milwaukee, Gates said it would be a mistake to repeat the reductions made in the U.S. military following two world wars, the Korean conflict, Vietnam and the Cold War.

"As a country, historically, we have a troubling, predictable pattern of coming to the end of a conflict, concluding that the nature of man and the world has changed for the better, and turning inward -- unilaterally disarming and dismantling institutions important to our national security," Gates said in Defense Department release.

"When war comes again, we have had to rebuild and rearm, at huge cost of blood and treasure, most recently after Sept. 11.

"It is critically important moving forward that we not repeat that mistake again."

Gates indicated he would like to see defense spending growth double the 1 percent to 2 percent increase in real spending President Barack Obama has pledged.

"To make the case for this growth at a time of economic and fiscal duress requires the Defense Department to make every dollar count -- to fundamentally change the way we do business," said Gates, who has directed the military branches to find $100 billion in savings in the next five years.

"Our troops have more than done their part, now it's time for us in Washington to do ours."