Inouye on Kaplan

Senior Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii (D) invoked the man himself yesterday, saying that the decision to “downsize” the Eielson Air Force Base in Hawaii—which contains 2,800 personnel and a number of fighter jets—was a mistake.

Inouye quoted Robert Kaplan, who said in a recent Atlantic Monthly article that military conflict with China—“a more formidable adversary than Russia ever was”—will define the 21st century. “The counterweight that the author describes rests on our bases in the Pacific,” Inouye said. “That is why the Eielson decision is so puzzling.”

Eielson’s A-10s and F-16s are needed to “rapidly deploy to Korea in the event of a crisis, and the North Koreans know this,” Inouye said.

Military analysts at Washington think tanks contacted last week mostly supported the Defense Department’s pullback in Alaska. They said the few hours shorter flying time offered by Alaska’s bases was not of great strategic significance. Conflicts usually develop slowly and forces can be rearranged as the risk increases, they said.

Inouye said that approach sends the wrong message. “It is clear that the nations of the region, both allies and adversaries, keep an eye on the location of U.S. forces, our bases, to measure our resolve,” he said.