Saturday, January 2, 2010

What To Watch In 2010


From DoD Buzz:

UPDATED: Veteran Pentagon Watcher Predicts Budget Gridlock if Gates Leaves And GOP Wins House and Heritage Analyst Comments

The defense world can be incredibly frustrating to cover. For the most part there is relatively little real change from year to year except in factors beyond the military’s control. So the military tends to adopt a worst case approach to the world and try to come up with solutions that fit a wide range of problems. That creates its own snafus, since systems like FCS or Future Imagery Architecture end up costing way too much and doing few things well. The military’s greatest successes are usually found in developing systems that do one or two things really well — think the Jeep, the Abrams tank, the boomer fleet, the A-​​10 Warthog.

Read more ....

My Comment: A good analysis .... much of which I agree with. The budgetary wars are going to be brutal, especially since the GOP is in a position to reclaim the House (maybe), thereby increasing even more budget gridlock and conflict for the 2011 budget. As for Sec. of Defense Gates .... I do not see him leaving this year. He enjoys his job, he believes that he is making a difference (he is), and he has the ear and support of the President. To say no to all of that .... even with the President of the United States asking him to stay .... I do not see that in his character.

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