Political Skullduggery

The brave (sic) new world of post 9-11 America may cause casualties in a most unexpected place: the wallets of some defense contractors.

It was left to Ryan Henry (pictured), principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy, to give hints of a policy change to some leading defense contractors.

The Quadrennial Defense Review, the infamous examination of our nation's defense priorities is due to be released in February. Rumsfeld, as he is wont, is taking aim at obsolete weapons systems designed for a Cold War environment.

The spending on unnecessary weapons systems has nearly brought the nation to bankruptcy, and something needs to be done about the profligate military spending.

(T)here is now greater attention in Washington, both in Congress and at the Pentagon, on out-of-control spending on some weapons. The Pentagon currently has $1.3 trillion of weapons program in its portfolio - with $800 billion of the bills for them still to be paid. The Pentagon has commissioned a major study to make recommendations on curbing these runaway costs.

There will still be excessive outlays on "intelligence" related systems "needed" to fight the "war on terror."

This would mean the Pentagon would want to buy more of the highly agile and high-technology weapons that they need. Specialized skills like language, intelligence and communication are also becoming top priorities.

(...)

But already there are signs of trouble ahead. In the last few years, Mr. Rumsfeld has tried to kill some weapons systems he saw as Cold War anachronisms and to push a military modernization plan. But his efforts were thwarted by what Washington calls the Iron Triangle of Congress, the uniformed military command and military contractors.

Many military experts said the same fate could be in store for this review, although Mr. Henry, and some military analysts, argued that this round could be different.

Still, some military analysts remain skeptical. "Congress equates weapon systems with jobs and votes," Mr. Thompson said. "It's hard to convince them of anything that will lead to less jobs and fewer votes."

Contractors Are Warned: Cuts Coming for Weapons