WASHINGTON -- The real presidential race has finally begun, as Vice President Al Gore and Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush battle over the state of the military. But their focus on questions of morale and readiness ignores the more fundamental issue of security commitments, which require retention of an outsize military.

Neither candidate seems to have noticed that communism has collapsed. Which means we don't need a Cold War military any more.

Consider the deployment of 37,000 soldiers in South Korea. The June summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and South Korean President Kim Dae Jung was more successful than almost anyone expected.