Sherlock Holmes once solved the mystery of a disappearing racehorse by noting “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.” But, a Scotland Yard detective objected, “The dog did nothing in the night-time.” Holmes’s laconic reply: ”That was the curious incident.”
Today, in Washington, D.C., the dog that isn’t barking is the defense budget. It is the biggest issue that no one — at least no one outside the defense policy community — is talking about.
There are plenty of warning signs that the defense budget is too small to meet the United States’ global commitments, and that military readiness is suffering with dangerous consequences.