Pentagon Planning Major Changes In Programs, Defense Budget

Washington Post:

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates is expected to announce on Monday the restructuring of several dozen major defense programs as part of the Obama administration's bid to shift military spending from preparations for large-scale war against traditional rivals to the counterinsurgency programs that Gates and others consider likely to dominate U.S. conflicts in coming decades.

Gates's aides say his plan would boost spending for some programs and take large whacks at others, including some with powerful constituencies on Capitol Hill and among influential contractors, making his announcement more of an opening bid than a decisive end to weeks of sometimes acrimonious internal Pentagon debate.

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[LastLiberalRepublican]

One thing that I hope comes out of this is finding the way to award the contract for replacing the Air Force's aging fleet of Boeing -707 tanker aircraft to a U.S. - based company. Irrespective of how some people may/could feel about Boeing, awarding this contract to Airbus is pure folly in terms of protecting national security interests. The idea of an Airbus consortium with Northrop - Grumman ("N-G") just smells fishy and if that ever occurred, no one could be surprised if N-G was fired six months into the deal. Likewise, no one could be surprised if Airbus might ever be forced into withholding key components in the event the French and German governments ever had serious disagreement with U.S. policy.

[RexPrimoris]

Please; with all due respect, get real. You don't think Boeing's hands are as dirty as any of the other major defense contractors? With so much money at stake, all of these corporations are unscrupulous in their pursuit of the big-money contracts. Methinks you've been watching too many of those heartwarming Boeing TV ads proclaiming what a benevolent corporation it is -- you know, making planes that drop airborne supplies to distressed peoples around the world, etc.

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11780

The "national security" card might deserve to be played if Airbus was a Chinese corporation, but it isn't. It has U.S. subsidiaries and partnerships. At any rate, both proposed tanker deals stink, like 99% of defense procurement. There are no good guys when it comes to defense spending.

[DXM]

While I am heartened to see that some of the more wasteful Defense programs are potentially on the chopping block as well as instituting long overdue procurement contract reforms, a 4% INCREASE in Defense spending seems to me to be the wrong direction to be taking. We still spend more than all of the other nations of the world combined on defense (including essentially subsidizing the defense of other developed nations that should be and can afford to be shouldering more of their own defense burdens). We need to start slashing defense spending by several percent and begin divesting ourselves of our obsolete Cold War empire that we can no longer afford to maintain nor have any legitimate reason to maintain. The money would be much better spent investing in our laundry list domestic issues or decreasing our budget deficits in the years after our eventual economic recovery.

[jhamm1]

"Gates also is considering cutting a new $20 billion communications satellite program and reducing the number of aircraft carriers from 11 to 10"

That settles it.

In addition to staying any further expenditures into the wasteful F-22 program, we can fulfill Gates' intentions for reducing the size of our navy by adhering to the words of a well-known battle-cry:

"SINK THE BUSH!!!"

[horsey]

cut defense 50 percent over the next 8 years and get us back in the black.

everyone should know Republicans have a love affair with defense only because of profits from the defense industry they stuff in their pockets with their fat, greasy hands.

[ConcernedAboutRFuture]

I am soooooo tired of this wasteful branch of the government. Having a friend who was in the military for 25 years, she told me there IS NO OTHER organization as WASTEFUL as the Pentagon. Yet, here we are, pumping billions into people who have no clue what it's like to struggle. Their paycheck is assured at all times and their thinking is NOT for Americans, but rather, how to get more money for their budget.

[serecovery]

I wonder if Glen Beck will cry about this on his show and accuse Gates of being a fascist. For that matter, he'll say the entire defense establishment has now gone fascist.

[RexPrimoris]

Check out the WHite House's own budget docs to get a sense of how much money is thrown at the Pentagon, relative to the other federal agencies. And, I'm not suggesting that the other agencies deserve all the money alloted to them, or that they spend that money efficiently; it's just instructive to get a sense of the scale involved, and how wildly out of proportion it is, relative to everything else.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/

[RexPrimoris]

Rest assured that there will be no major defense cuts, and Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, United Technologies, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, et al. will continue to reap profits at taxpayer expense. This aspect of welfare capitalism is too firmly entrenched in the power structure of Washington, D.C. to ever change substantially. Even President Obama, as well-intentioned and enlightened as he is, does not dare risk looking weak on defense matters by slashing defense spending; he is in fact increasing spending. Ike warned us about this long ago, but few listened to his prescience. We're already seeing the "jobs" argument asserted to justify defense spending. Yes, defense spending creates jobs, but so does laying railroad track, building a water treatment plant, or repairing a crumbling bridge, and the latter projects offer long-term return-on-­investment and help improve the quality of life in American society. The National Debt is $11 trillion and climbing. INterest payments on that debt are arriving at the realm of $500 billion per year. The day may yet come when foreign creditors decide to stop propping up the biggest debtor nation in the world. There is no justification for military spending to remain at its current level -- a sum greater than the combined military spending of the 10 next largest-spending nations. To continue down this road of unrestrained military spending is pure insanity.

[Redeemer777]

This kind of news always freaks me out because historically it is accompanied by an event that spreads fear and boosts defense spending.

[gmonet]

Forget the Taliban, forget the tank battles across fields and hedgerows, Cyberspace warfare is the next battlefield and we are not ready. Hire some geeks and loose the generals.

[petera63]

Robert Gates is a very competent guy. The other one is Gen. Petraeus. O is ver lucky to have them in his administration.

[jinxed]

Time to cut the Pentagon budget by 75% ... if the military/industrial complex needs money then it is time to close overseas bases, end the wars in Iraq and Afganistan, and cancel ALL non-bid contracts.

[urweatherman]

Yeah, you are right....L­et's just change our name to the United States of China right now and save alot of money and trouble!

[RexPrimoris]

I agree wholeheartedly, but the day such radical cuts are made is the day Hell freezes over. Defense spending now occupies a similar role to that of money spent on the "war on drugs" (propping up the prison industry) -- it is the central fiscal lifeblood of politically influential corporations. Instead of spending being driven by sound policy, the political will of the masses and fiscal prudence, it's driven instead by the needs of industry to make profits and survive.

[petera63]

Only 75%?! Why not 100%?

[LeLoup]

Just won't happen. Watch the "powerful constituents" tell Gates that he can forget about any dollar until he backs down.

That is, unless Obama backs him 100% and use the bully pulpit to shine a bright light on all the war profiteers.

Somehow, I have my doubts he'll do that; didn't even remove the banksters from the plush jobs with the severe crisis we have now, so I'm not holding my breath.

[LiberalBuzz]

Yeah but are they going to do it the right way or just shift to some one else's fav?

[AngieMom57]

Take government contracts away from HAL and give it to AAPL

WMD was old paradigm.

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