Panetta Has the Weight of Defense Department Cuts on His Shoulders

[Geee]

Human Events:

The incoming secretary of defense’s mission is to preside over a Pentagon build-down that will be driven by financial, not national, security interests. That view, according to a powerful member of the U.S. House of Representatives, puts the country on “the fast track for decline.”

Last week, Rep. Buck McKeon (R.-Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, spoke at The Heritage Foundation to set the stage for a significant budget showdown with Leon Panetta, President Barack Obama’s choice to replace outgoing Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Previously Obama said we can make cuts in national security “while still keeping ourselves safe,” and then proposed a $400 billion defense build-down over 10 years.

But McKeon rejected the President’s proposed cuts, accusing him of flinching “from positions of responsibility as the global order tremors.” The congressman accepts the need to do some “housekeeping." For example, he would end funding for the troubled Medium Extended Air Defense System and instead direct that money toward the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system.

Panetta, 72, the outgoing CIA director, comes to the defense budget showdown fully armed for battle. Previously he served as director of the White House budget office for President Clinton and on the House budget committee. His connections on both sides of Capitol Hill (he served in Congress from California for eight terms), remain strong.

Gordon Adams, a professor at American University who once worked for Panetta, told the New York Times that Panetta “knows how to draw a line, he knows how to hang tough, he knows when to concede, and he knows when to close a deal.” He will need those skills to convince the service chiefs and Republican hawks such as McKeon to accept Obama’s defense cuts.