Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Quotes

Today, the US spends less on defense as a percentage of our economy than we did at any time since he Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. For the world's only superpower, that is an invitation to very serious trouble.

There is a lot of juggling between NATO commitment and domestic politics in most countries [belonging to NATO.]

How much do we really need for the defense of the United States of America? Only the defense to defend its shores? Well I suppose that the maximum for the defense of our shores is one billion dollars. So the rest of our defense budget relates to what we regard as our responsibilities as a world power.

I read in the press, and therefore it must be true, that no secretary of defense had ever been quoted as arguing for a bigger budget for State.

At Concerned Veterans for America, we've made the case that the defense budget could be targeted for spending reform, but in a targeted fashion that genuinely changes unsustainable spending trajectories while preserving U.S. defense capacity.

We cannot allow anything that's called 'national defense' to justify any and all spending. We need to be very, very careful that we don't overspend and say, 'Oh, that's defense,' when perhaps it isn't.

Well, no American wants to in any way hurt our capabilities to national defense, but that doesn't mean an unlimited amount of money, and a blank check for anything they want at any time, for any purpose. Not at all.

Getting our military back on stable footing won't happen overnight. We must start this process now, since future engagements are likely and allies are scarce.

During the 2000 election, the current administration told our military, help is on the way. That is clearly not the case. The administration has failed to request the funds needed for the defense of this Nation. We must give the Army what it needs.

There is no better constraint on the leader of a developing country than telling him that he has to pay cash for his weapons.

It is not how much you spend on defense as much as how you spend it.

Nations want the United States to fight their wars, until they go bad.

I have spoken to Donald Trump about this. He understands the dramatic budget cuts our military has faced.

I have long maintained the military budget is not a jobs bill... and will continue to support the lowest budget possible.

President Trump has made rebuilding our military strength one of his top priorities. More money is certainly required, but so is reform of the Pentagon and how it does business.

President Trump has called on other nations to do more, and they have responded. By the end of 2020, our NATO allies will spend an additional $100 billion on defense, an unprecedented increase that will make the alliance stronger.

I was proud of President Trump for sticking up for the American taxpayer and saying it's time for you to shoulder your burden. You are not fulfilling your promise that you made to NATO. And you need to step up to the plate.

The bottom line, addressing defense spending cuts with a meat ax like sequestration will damage defense readiness for decades to come.

The repose of nations cannot be secure without arms, armies cannot be maintained without pay, nor can the pay be produced without taxes

I suspect that Donald Trump is going to be very tough with those countries that don't spend at least 2 percent of their gross domestic product on defense. He will ask them why should we allow a free-ride policy.

The two-war strategy was a product of the cold war, when we had to have the ability to fight the Russians on the plains of Europe and fight the Chinese on the Korean peninsula at the same time. That costs an awful lot of money.

… war is a matter not so much of arms as of money

Sometimes Republicans want to cut the social welfare programs and yet they ask for billions and billions more for the Defense Department. I don’t take that approach.

The Pentagon doesn’t need more money. What it needs desperately is a functional procurement system …. The result [of not having one] is not just ordinary waste, fraud and abuse … but also deep and lasting damage to the country’s ability to project power and wage war.

From birth, Pakistan was saddled with a huge army it could not pay for and plenty of monsters to destroy.