The Pentagon Is Facing Another Round Of Budget Chaos

The Pentagon is funding social science research to model risks of "social contagions" that could damage US strategic interests. Photograph: Jason Reed/REUTERS

Jeremy Herb, Politico: The Pentagon's new fiscal cliff

“Everyone is still with the happy talk that somehow sequestration is going to go away.”

WNU Editor: The Pentagon's budget is going to be released this Monday, but already the politics is being played out on national security. The White House will approve a larger Pentagon budget if (and only if) the spending caps are removed by Congress on entitlement programs. The Pentagon in turn operates on the assumption that they will get what they want even though the law will (most likely) not be changed to remove their spending caps. From an outsider looking in .... everyone appears to be operating in an environment of denial. They expect to get what they want .... but the process to get what you will need will not be changed to accommodate your desires. The resulting gridlock then becomes predictable .... everything gets frozen with everyone looking at each other and wondering who will make the first move ... and no one will.