Budget season is approaching

Learn more in today\'s DoD report.

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  • Budget season will be here before you know it. And, we’re likely to start hearing more of the old argument that defense spending needs to be tied to a fixed percentage of the U.S. GDP (or Gross Domestic Product). Foreign Policy reports, it’s likely to come up again, particularly from proponents of larger defense budgets. Defense Secretary Robert Gates is advocating for budget reform, but he’s already preemptively defending the defense budget against attempts by Congress to cut it. And, the president’s debt commission is looking at the defense allocation. For those who advocate for defense budget reform, it’s never made a lot of sense to tie the amount of money the U.S. spends on national security to the performance of the civilian economy, especially when you consider the massive national debt we have now, and other pressures on the budget. They say defense spending should be based directly on what threats exist and what’s needed to combat them. Winslow Wheeler is the director of the Strauss Military Reform project at the Center for Defense Information. He’s among those who ask why – as he puts it – “the number of tanks and ships we buy” should be connected to the number of Big Macs that are sold. Here’s some of the math for you: According to the Office of Management and Budget, in the current fiscal year the Department of Defense requested $533.8 billion dollars in regular funding, or 3.6 percent of an estimated GDP of $14.6 trillion. By the year 2015, OMB estimates we’ll see a $19.2 trillion GDP. That means the Pentagon would have to request $764 billion in defense funding, not including the wars, to get to a number that will equal 4 percent of that.
  • Stop “blabbing secrets,” is the message that’s been coming through loud and clear from the National Intelligence office. In fact, those are the exact words used by the Director of DNI, James Clapper. Officials haven’t been clear about what Clapper has been reacting to specifically, but there’s been plenty of trouble spots. In just the past few days we’ve seen Wikileaks processing more sensitive documents connected to the Afghan war, and last week they released a classified CIA red cell assessment. Also, a State Department analyst has been indicted for allegedly telling Fox News what U.S. intelligence agents had concluded about how North Korea would respond to diplomatic and military pressure. The Atlantic reports, Clapper may also be reacting to recent reports saying high-ranking government officials in Afghanistan have been on the CIA payroll. Then again, he might be trying to tamp down the use of leaks to influence policy. Former CIA officials tell the publication they think some leaks could be from military personnel who think that the CIA’s own interests actually conflict with President’s strategy. In turn, the Pentagon has not been happy with the reports on the expanding role of special operations forces to include intelligence-gathering. They say those leaks might originate with the CIA. Meanwhile, the nation’s top counter-intelligence officer, Bear Bryant, has been working on a policy that would discourage leaks by doing two things. It would tighten internal penalties, while opening up new channels so that potential whistle-blowers could talk to senior officials without fear of retaliation.

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