Panetta Pledges ‘Fight’ For ‘Common Sense’ in Budget Talks
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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 →
Panetta’s Coming War In the Army and Marines
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John Kenneth Galbraith, the noted economist, presidential advisor and ambassador, explored the origins of American financial crises and why many leading personalities in finance and government were unequal to mastering financial disasters they confronted. Large institutions, he found, treasure predictability over all other considerations in picking senior leaders. Their mission is stability, not change. Until… Keep reading →
New Cyber Strategy Falls Short
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The Pentagon is set to unveil its new strategy for dealing with cyber attacks. Because the cyber world now touches every aspect of our lives, the debate on what our cyber strategy should be has become one of the most important debates of its kind in our history. We must develop a cyber strategy that… Keep reading →
DepSecDef Lynn Going; Navy Sec Mabus Rises as Likely Pick
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Washington: Few people doubted that Deputy Defense Secretary Bill Lynn might go when Leon Panetta was announced as the Pentagon’s new leader. Then Lynn stayed for a bit and word went out that he would be with us for at least a while. Then an official announcement went out today suddenly announcing Lynn’s pending departure,… Keep reading →
Dems Join Tea Party Stalwart Calling for Early, Full Afghan Withdrawal
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Three senators used the New York Times op-ed page today to call for complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan two years earlier than the Obama administration plans call for. “We commend the president for sticking to the July date he had outlined for beginning the withdrawal. However, his plan would not remove all regular… Keep reading →
What Gates Didn’t Get Done
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Robert Gates has been called the best secretary of defense in recent memory. On the other hand, he has a reputation with some as a slick career bureaucrat with a knack for avoiding blame but pocketing credit. Both are true. “Best in recent memory?” It would have been hard for Gates to have been a… Keep reading →