Summary of  The Population Slowdown - A Challenge to the Military  by Colonel Robert X. de Marcellus, from a special issue of the The Prolife Reporte

U.S. Coalition for Life

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The Linacre QuarterlyVolume 46 | Number 1 Article 5February 1979Report from U.S. Coalition for LifeU.S. Coalition for LifeFollow this and additional works at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnqRecommended CitationU.S. Coalition for Life (1979) "Report from U.S. Coalition for Life," The Linacre Quarterly: Vol. 46: No. 1, Article 5.Available at: http://epublications.marquette.edu/lnq/vol46/iss1/518 Report from the U.S. Coalition for Life "Fortress America" and a completely nuclear strategy depend-ent upon massive retaliation as opposed to conventional forces capable of flexible response, are among the limited defense options now open to the United States as a result of falling birth rates and a rapidly aging population. This statement was released recently in a study on population decline and national defense published by the United States Coalition for Life. The special issue of The Pro life Reporter titled "The Popula-tion Slowdown - A Challenge to the Military" by Colonel Robert X. de Marcellus, FA FARNG was originally published as a U.S. Army War College essay in an attempt to draw attention to the grave consequences of the West's falling birth rate on our defense capabilities. According to Colonel de Marcellus, the drop in total U.S. fer-tility below replacement level and the steady rise in the popula-tion over 65 has resulted in certain fundamental (and, in some cases, irreversible) economic and military consequences over the next 25 years for the nation. Citing abortion and sterilization as two of the most rapidly growing means of population suppression, Colonel de Marcellus notes that any new "baby boom" is most unlikely in the foresee-able future. "However," he says, "America is living on borrowed demographic time and the long-term consequence of living off one's human capital without reinvestment for the future is econ-omic collapse when the burden of supporting a proportionally extremely large, aged population becomes intolerable." Using the British model as a "crystal ball" in terms of defense predictions, de Marcellus suggests that the United States defense posture at home and abroad will decline because of the rapid drop in manpower and the decrease of national defense expendi-tures in favor of rapidly rising health and welfare costs of sustain-ing a heavily aged population. In terms of military strategy for the future, Colonel de Marcellus suggests that the U.S . may pull back from European involvement and depend upon a completely nuclear strategy while hoping that a balance of power remains between the Soviet Union and Red China. " For the heart of the matter is this," he concludes, "as the proportion of aged in the nation rapidly rises, the young must shoulder an increasing burden." The release of the de Marcellus report came on the heels of publication of the findings of the U.S. House Select Committee Linacre Quarterly on Population chaired by Congressman James Scheuer, a leader in the national population suppression movement at home and abroad. According to Randy Engel, executive director of the U.S. Coalition for Life , the Select Committee has yet to address itself to the question of national defense and population decline and has instead been pushing the "same old tired" federal anti-natalist policies which have caused the decline in military options for the United States. Mrs. Engel stated that her organization will spearhead a drive in the next session of Congress to force the Departm ent of Defense and the military committees of the House and Senate to make public the fu ll ramifications of population decline and America 's national defense programs. The key issue, Mrs. Engel said, is whether or not current federal anti-life and anti-natalist policies promoted by the federal government are in the national interest or in the interest of a small but powerful population control group on Capitol Hill. REPRINTS Rep r ints of any ar ticle wh ich appeared in th e LlNA CR E QUARTER L Y, beginning with the 1966 issues IVai. 33 ) are now availab le in either la) fu ll-sized copy, o r Ib ) m icrof i lm, th rough XEROX UNIVERSITY M ICROFILMS. 300 No r th Z eeb R oad, Ann A rbor , M ichigan 4 8 106. Full sized reprints of ar ticles are avail ab le at $3.00 for the first cop y, p lus 50C fo r each addi · ti o nal cop y ordered . 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Report from U.S. Coalition for Life

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Report from U.S. Coalition for Life

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