and Gates gets to transform the military."It is relative to the huge speech Gates gave this weekend:
http://twitter.com/marcambinder/status/13700945190Gates Criticizes Bloated Military Bureaucracy
Defense Secretary Vows Top-Down Assessment of Pentagon Budget, from Staffing to Ubiquitous "Overhead" Costs(CBS)
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates shook up the Pentagon this weekend with a speech targeting waste in the military budget. CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports on what the secretary's speech might mean for everyone from generals and admirals on down
Gates has frequently complained the Pentagon bureaucracy takes too long to field critical pieces of equipment like predator drones and mine resistant vehicles. But in a speech this weekend he upped the ante.
"The Defense Department must take a hard look at every aspect of how it is organized, staffed and operated - indeed every aspect of how it does business," the defense secretary said.
Speaking at the Eisenhower Library, which houses the records of the president who famously warned about the
military-industrial complex, Gates ticked off example after example of Pentagon bloat.
"Overhead, broadly defined, makes up roughly 40 percent of the department's budget," he said.
He described a top-heavy bureaucracy where generals hang on to their jobs long after the need has vanished.
"Two decades after the end of the cold war led to steep cuts in U.S. forces in Europe, our military still has more than 40 generals, admirals or civilian equivalents based on the continent," Gates said.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/05/09/eveningnews/main6470348.shtml From back in March 2009.
Gates, Obama to Take on Military-Industrial ComplexThere have been a lot of smoke signals indicating that Robert Gates and Barack Obama are gearing up to take on the bloated defense weapons system sector, but there have also been a fair number of contrary signals. Now the signals are looking both clear and good:
Two defense officials who were not authorized to speak publicly said Gates will announce up to a half-dozen major weapons cancellations later this month. Candidates include a new Navy destroyer, the Air Force’s F-22 fighter jet, and Army ground-combat vehicles, the officials said. More cuts are planned for later this year after a review that could lead to reductions in programs such as aircraft carriers and nuclear arms, the officials said.
This is excellent news. Matt Duss observes:
This is welcome news. As I wrote yesterday, one of the key strategic misconceptions of the Bush administration was to focus on threats from strong state actors rather than non-state actors operating within weak and failed states. (Last fall, CAP’s Brian Katulis argued — as did I — that Gates’ demonstrated approach to 21st century national security challenges was a good reason to keep him in place in an Obama administration.)
Andrew Exum observes that this means the Gates Pentagon will now be fighting a three front war, adding “the bi-partisan coalition of lobbyists, congressmen, and industry leaders” to their existing problems in Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Gordon Adams in a guest post at Democracy Arsenal takes on the specious economic argument for continuing with strategically blinkered weapons programs
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2009/03/gates_obama_to_take_on_military_industrial_complex.php
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