A Pretty Good Start Posted by Michael Cohen

When it comes to defense spending I think the greatest challenge the United States faces in the lack of a strategic framework for our military - whether its a focus on conventional war-fighting or counter-insurgency the all important question of what type of enemies America will be facing and how our military should be reconfigured to deal with these new threats is all too rarely asked.

But having said all that, the budget announced by Secretary of Defense Gates is a pretty damn good step in the right direction. Not only does it propose long overdue cuts in outdated and overpriced defense systems, but there was this Churchillian rhetoric on contractor reform:

There is broad agreement on the need for acquisition and contracting reform in the Department of Defense. There have been enough studies.   Enough hand-wringing. Enough rhetoric. Now is the time for action.

While I need to dig a little deeper to see if the reform measures Gates is advocating are the right ones this is an important step in the right direction and a long overdue recognition from the highest levels of the Pentagon about the need for reform.

I hope this is the beginning not the end of a larger discussion about what we want our military to be doing in the future, but the fact that we are even talking about serious budgetary reform is a critical step in the direction. And the larger recognition in the Pentagon of the diminished importance of gold-plated weapons system built to confront a conventional enemy that no longer exists is great news.

As Noah Shachtman puts it over the Danger Room: "What we have here is the Defense Secretary trying to shake the defense establishment free of the Cold War, finally."

Amen, brother.

Comments

[Bottega Veneta handbags]

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference

[Tiffany replica Cuff Links]

If you have a TypeKey or TypePad account, please Sign In

You are currently signed in as (nobody). Sign Out

[luxury watches]

I am so with you,rolex watch
luxury watch

[cheap coach handbags]

http://www.zetinopvoetbal.nl/forum/index.php

[cheap coach bags]

Great comments! You are so nice, man! You never know how much i like'em!

[cheap coach purses]

Yes, that's cool. The device is amazing! Waiting for your next one!

[FFXIV Gil]

Are you fighting in Final Fantasy XIV for FFXIV Gil or Final Fantasy XIV Gil?
Can you suffer yourself being called newbie in FFXIV Gil game?
Are you seeking unofficial Buy FFXIV Gil cheats or Final Fantasy XIV guides in order to make Final Fantasy XIV Gil faster?
Can you get millions of Cheap FFXIV Gil in one day?
Even if you know how to farm Buy Final Fantasy XIV Gil you have to prepare enough Final Fantasy XIV Power Leveling first to buy height class Final Fantasy XIV Items, to upgrade your Final Fantasy XIV characters.
FF14 Gil Then why not Buy FFXIV Gil from us?
In Final Fantasy XIV it's the fastest way FF14 Gil,for you to get rich. We are online 24 hours a day ready and 7 days one week to power up your FFXIV Gil accounts with FFXIV Gil. Here is the best place for the Final Fantasy XIV Online players to buy your Final Fantasy XIV Gil.
We are the professional website in FFXIV GIL sale.FFXIV GIL here,We are professional FFXIV Power Leveling online. We update price every single day to make sure we are the lowest in the market.(we don't compare price with scam sites which uses unbelievable low price to deceive.)
Our slogan:Cheapest price, Fastest delivery, Best service! Final Fantasy XIV GIL
In the 2 years we are in this field , FFXIV GILbuilt many business with tens of thousands of customers. They are very satisfied with our service.So if you want to get a log of Cheap FFXIV Gil ,no doubt ,come to our website to buy. Our customer service is ready for you on line now!(WWW,GM MMO,COM Sell FFXIV Gil)

[Explosion Proof Flash Lights]

We are committed to developing environmentally friendly and energy-saving explosion-proof light, led flashlight, led mining light,spotlight and light towers use of new technologies and materials.

[seo-vancouver]

We want our military to be doing in the future.

[MPEG4 Converter Mac]

MPEG4 Converter Mac enables users to convert general videos (MPEG4, WMV, AVI, MOV, VOB, DIVX etc.) as well as HD videos (MTS, M2TS, TOD, MOD, MKV, etc) driectly to the portable devices, like iPod, iPad, iPhone, iPod Nano, iPhone 4G, iPad 3G, and so the forth.
VOB to MPEG4 Mac is the first choice for users to convert VOB to MPEG4 on mac with super fast speed and excellent quality.
If you want to convert MOV to MPEG4 on mac, I highly recommend this MOV to MPEG4 Mac to you which can get output MPEG4 files with 1:1 quality of original files or a totally new one with much better effect.
FLV to MPEG4 Mac is an all-in-one video converter for Mac OS X, it can smartly convert between various kinds of video and audio formats. All the formsts like HD video, general video, audio, flash video are supported.
WMV to MPEG4 Mac provides users with powerful edit functions with which users can freely cut off video segment not wanted, crop video playing area to make it fitable to portable devices, edit video brightness, contrast and saturation as well as a image/text/video watermark.
MKV to MPEG4 Mac able to do format conversion among various popular video and audio formats, including Flash Video/ YouTube video (*.flv, *.f4v), HD Video (*.tod, *.mod, *.mov, *.mts, *.m2t, *.m2ts, *.ts, *.tp, *.trp, *.evo, *.mkv, *.dv ), General Video (*.avi, *.mpg, *.wmv, etc), QuickTime video(*.mov), DVR Videos (*.tivo) and more. In that way, you can edit or play your video files with different video editing software and universal portable players.
AVI to MPEG4 Mac helps you to convert video files for your iPad, Dell Streak, iPhone 4, Xobx360, Popcorn Hour, PS3, Media Server, NAS, Archos, Apple TV, Droid X, Droid 2, Nokia N8, Nokia E7, Nokia C7, Galaxy Tab, HTC Evo 4G,iTunes, QuickTime Player, iMovie, FCE, Final Cut Pro, iDVD, and more. Free download this terrific AVI to MPEG4 Mac and enjoy it.

[Best Mp4 players]

this is the beginning not the end of a larger discussion about what we want our military to be doing in the future, but the fact that we are even talking about serious budgetary reform is a critical step in the direction.

[wholesale replica handbags]

i like your opinion. 2291 Peek A Boo Bag, m41526 Speedy 30, 1112, m40249 artsy mm, M45257 Messenger Bag, M40156 Neverfull MM, m40144 Tivoli GM, 6089, 211943 sukey, New Jackie