In his June 22 speech announcing the withdrawal of 33,000 U.S. troops by September 2012, President Barack Obama said that “it is time to focus on nation-building here at home.”
Andrew F. Krepinevich, president of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a policy research institute that examines national security issues, said that as much as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost -- more than $1 trillion over a decade -- Medicare and Medicaid spending are projected to be bigger drivers of the debt.
Krepinevich said that in calling for domestic “nation- building,” Obama isn’t being literal so much as promising to redirect war spending to deficit reduction.
“I think what the president means to say is, ‘Look, we’re spending $100 billion a year in Afghanistan. I’d rather be in a position to put that $100 billion to work for the American people, the American economy,’” Krepinevich said. “Deficit reduction contributes to a strong economic foundation here at home that provides for the economic growth that will benefit all Americans over the long run.”