"...As guys like Tom Barnett have endlessly pointed out, there are, roughly speaking, two competing camps in the Defense Department. One group -- mostly Army guys and Marines -- wants to retool our military, to go after terrorists and tackle insurgents. The other -- largely made up of Air Force and Navy-types -- thinks that Iraq and Al-Qaeda are distractions from the one mortal enemy that can really threaten America long-term: the Chinese.
"Donald Rumsfeld's words favored the first camp. "[P]repar[ing] for wider asymmetric challenges" is a "fundamental imperative" for the military, the Pentagon noted in the Quadrennial Defense Review, its every-four-years look at grand strategy. We're in the middle of a "Long War." Iraq and Afghanistan are just the opening battles.
"But follow the money, and a very different set of priorities emerges. The Pentagon is spending its $70 billion budget on new weapons like it's the Cold War all over again – with China stepping in for the Soviets. Nearly $10 billion a year goes to ballistic missile interceptors originally designed to stop Russian missiles; $9 billion to new-jack fighter jets meant to take on MiGs; $3.3 billion to next-gen tanks and fighting vehicles; $1 billion for the Trident II nuclear missile upgrade; and $2 billion for a new strategic bomber.
Gates can continue the trend. Or more than five years after 9/11, he can commit to focusing the Defense Department firmly, absolutely on the two-front war which he admits the U.S. is "not winning." That's the fundamental choice to be made. You can change tactics in Iraq –- or not. But as long as China remains front-and-center for so much of the military, it's hard to see how the U.S. winds up winning this "Long War..."
It's hard to think that somewhere people are still buying the idea it can be won. Or that winning, instead of profits, were ever a real objective. If there's one thing that is obvious, it's that a house-to-house war like
If there isn't, we'll just run a projection, and if Dear Leader keeps intentionally weakening our dollar enough, they're bound to catch up with us!
This is the D.o'D.'s Information War, and first and foremost, they're trying to sell themselves on themselves.
[Alternatively, not to suggest anything immoderate, the government could try to, you know, get along and lessen tensions and trash the whole preemptive war schtick. Or consider no longer selling out the American Dream for cheap slave labor. Or maybe consider redeveloping an independent non fossil fuel based American energy industry and manufacturing base.
But where's the money in that for the Big Boys and their Big Toys?]
More on the D.o'D.'s budget- and everyone else's in 2007- here.
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