Donald Trump vows massive increase in US military spending

He outlined proposals for an active army of 540,000 troops, an air force of at least 1,200 fighter aircraft, and a 36-battalion marine corps

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump today vowed to strengthen US armed forces by increasing military spending by tens of billions of dollars, and said he would ask his generals for a plan to defeat and destroy the ISIS within 30 days of taking office.

In a major foreign policy speech in Pennsylvania, Trump said he will ask the US Congress to fully eliminate defence sequester and will submit a new budget to rebuild the military as soon as he assumes office.

Trump outlined proposals for an active army of around 540,000 troops, an air force of at least 1,200 fighter aircraft, a 36-battalion marine corps and a navy of 350 surface ships and submarines.

Trump also announced that he will seek to develop a state-of-the-art-missile defence system; will modernise naval cruisers to provide Ballistic Missile Defence capabilities and will enforce all classification rules.

Describing the motto of his foreign policy "Peace Through Strength", Trump said he wants to achieve a stable, peaceful world with less conflict and more common ground.

"I am proposing a new foreign policy focused on advancing America's core national interests, promoting regional stability, and producing an easing of tensions in the world. This will require rethinking the failed policies of the past," he said.

"We can make new friends, rebuild old alliances, and bring new allies into the fold. I am proud to have the support of warfighting generals, active duty military, and the top experts who know both how to win - and how to avoid the endless wars we are caught in now. Just yesterday, 88 top Generals and Admirals endorsed my campaign," said the GOP nominee.

Arguing that in a Trump Administration, US actions in the Middle East will be tempered by realism, he said the current strategy of toppling regimes, with no plan for what to do the day after, only produces power vacuums that are filled by terrorists.

"We should work with any country that shares our goal of destroying ISIS and defeating radical Islamic terrorism, and form new friendships and partnerships based on this mission. We now have an Administration, and a former Secretary of State, who refuse to say radical Islamic terrorism," he said.

"Immediately after taking office, I will ask my generals to present to me a plan within 30 days to defeat and destroy ISIS. This will require military warfare, but also cyber warfare, financial warfare, and ideological warfare - as I laid out in my speech on defeating Radical Islamic terrorism several weeks ago," he said.

"Instead of an apology tour, I will proudly promote our system of government and our way of life as the best in the world - just like we did in our campaign against communism during the Cold War. We will show the whole world how proud we are to be American," Trump said.
 

Attacking Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, Trump said her policies as Secretary of State left the Middle East in more disarray than ever before.

"...Sometimes it has seemed like there wasn't a country in the Middle East that Hillary Clinton didn't want to invade, intervene or topple. She is trigger-happy and unstable when it comes to war," he said.

Trump said early in his term, he will be requesting that all NATO nations promptly pay their bills, which many are not doing right now.

Only five NATO countries, including the US, are currently meeting the minimum requirement to spend two per cent of GDP on defence.

"Additionally, I will be respectfully asking countries such as Germany, Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia to pay more for the tremendous security we provide them. Finally, we will have at our disposal additional revenues from unleashing American energy," he said.

Trump proposed to rebuild the key tools of missile defence, starting with the Navy cruisers that are the foundation of missile defence capabilities in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.

The Obama-Clinton administration tried repeatedly to remove our cruisers from service, then refused to modernise these aging ships, he said.

"We will start by modernising our cruisers to provide the Ballistic Missile Defense capability our nation needs; this will cost around $220 million per modernisation as we seek to modernise a significant portion of these 22 ships," he said.