Mattis: Military Ready for Possible War, Yet Budget Woes Put Security at Risk
WASHINGTON – Defense Secretary James Mattis acknowledged that it's impossible to tell what the future holds for the crisis with North Korea. Still, he warned the U.S. Armed Forces is ready for a military confrontation with Kim Jong-un.
Gen. Mattis made those remarks Monday at conference for servicemen at the annual Association of the United States Army in Washington.
"Right now, a diplomatically-led, economic sanctioned effort to try to turn North Korea off this path. What does the future hold? Neither you nor I can say," Mattis said. "There is one thing the U.S. Army can do. That is, you have got to be ready to ensure that we have military options that our president can employ, if needed," he continued.
Mattis also touted the United Nations Security Council's recent unanimous votes to impose further sanctions against the rogue regime for its belligerent behavior.
"How many times have we seen the U.N. Security Council vote twice in a row to impose stronger sanctions on North Korea?" he asked. "Remember the Security Council has countries like France, Russia, and China."
Mattis told the crowd the international community has spoken and that means the U.S. Army must stand ready.
"So if you're ready, that's your duty at this point in time," he added.
The comments come as President Donald Trump issued more statements about ongoing tensions between the United States and North Korea over the weekend on Twitter, saying that giving the country billions of dollars over the past 25 years did not work.
President Trump tweeted, "Presidents and their administrations have been talking to North Korea for 25 years, agreements made and massive amounts of money paid hasn't worked, agreements violated before the ink was dry, makings fools of U.S. negotiators. Sorry, but only one thing will work!"
His warning comes amid fears North Korea is preparing to detonate a nuclear bomb or launch a missile, possibly this week.
Secretary Mattis also discussed how America's army is growing and how combat readiness is improving as well as advances in training, which are showing results. Yet he added Congress needs to do its job and pass a budget.
In July, the U.S. House approved $696.5 billion in defense spending, with a base budget of $621.5 billion and $75 billion in war money, known as Overseas Contingency Operations funds.
The Senate's bill, which passed in August, would authorize $640 billion for the base budget and $60 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations dollars.
To fund either amount, lawmakers must lift spending caps set under the 2011 Budget Control Act.
Mattis has painted a bleak picture of the state of the military under the budget restrictions, which only allow $549 billion in defense spending.
