The problem with military planners is that all they know is military stuff. The Pentagon may harbor some of the best strategists who ever gazed at a globe, but they seldom have much grasp of economics or demographics or cultural trends. So when a new threat arises, their natural inclination is to figure out how… Keep reading →

Washington: Lest there be any doubt, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told the American public point blank today that Congress should raise taxes and cut entitlements instead of making more cuts to the defense budget. This is clearly now the Pentagon’s official line: we have made significant cuts already. When America faces the terrorist threat, is… Keep reading →

Washington: A senior defense official sent Congress a very clear message today: you can do what you want, but lawmakers should raise taxes and cut Social Security and other entitlements before imposing any reducing Pentagon spending beyond the $350 billion mandated in the debt deal. “I would expect them to focus on entitlement and taxes,”… Keep reading →

Washington: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta made a safe choice and elevated the head of Pentagon acquisition to serve as his deputy. Ash Carter will lead the Pentagon’s enormously difficult efforts to cut the budget without gutting America’s military capabilities. The nomination of Carter, who has won consistent praise from defense lawmakers for his oversight of… Keep reading →

The final debt plan being considered by Congress punts the issue of defense spending to a super-committee of legislators. Composed of an equal number of Democrats and Republicans from both houses, these members will be charged with hashing out the details. Not only will this new process circumvent existing congressional appropriations process, it will also… Keep reading →

Washington: Thank god the debt deal is done. At least that threat to our national security appears to have been nullified. One of the sacrificial lambs appears to have been the defense budget but, as with so much surrounding the negotiations of the last few months, little is known of the details. The White House… Keep reading →