Another Great Gates Speech

I think Gates speech at a Meeting of the Economic Club of Chicago might be one of his best yet. Read the transcript. A few bits worth thinking about.

So where do we go from here? Authorization for more F-22s is in both versions of the defense bill working its way through the Congress. The president has indicated that he has real red lines in this budget, including the F-22.

Some might ask, why threaten a veto and risk a confrontation over a couple of billion dollars and for a dozen or so more -- a dozen or so more planes?

The grim reality is that with regard to the defense budget, we have entered a zero-sum game. Every defense dollar devoted to -- diverted to fund excess or unneeded capacity, whether for more F-22s or anything else, is a dollar that will be unavailable to take care of our people, to win the wars we are in, to deter potential adversaries, and to improve capabilities in areas where America is underinvested and potentially vulnerable. That is a risk I cannot accept and one that I will not take.

And with regard to something like the F-22, regardless of whether the number of aircraft at issue is 12 or 200, if we can't bring ourselves to make this tough but straightforward decision -- reflecting the judgment of two very different presidents, two secretaries of defense, two chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the current Air Force secretary and chief of staff -- where do we draw the line? And if not now, when?

If we can't get this right, what on earth can we get right? It is time to draw the line on doing defense business as usual. The president has drawn that line, and that line is with regard to a veto. And it is real.

I think this part is on the money.

A final thought. I arrived in Washington 43 years ago this summer. Of all people, I am well aware of the realities of Washington and know that change -- that things do not change overnight. After all, the influence of politics and parochial interests in defense matters is as old as the republic itself. Henry Knox, the first secretary of war, was charged with building the first American fleet. To get the support of Congress, Knox eventually ended up with six frigates being built in six different shipyards in six different states. (Laughter.)

But the stakes today are very high -- with the nation at war, and a security landscape steadily growing more dangerous and unpredictable. I am deeply concerned about the long-term challenges facing our defense establishment, and just as concerned that the political state of play in Washington does not reflect the reality that major reforms are needed, or that tough choices and real discipline are necessary.

We stand at a crossroads. We simply cannot risk continuing down -- going down the same path, where our spending and program priorities are increasingly divorced from the very real threats of today and the growing ones of tomorrow. These threats demand that all of our nation's leaders rise above the politics and parochialism that have too often plagued considerations of our national -- the national defense, from industry to interest groups, from the Pentagon to Foggy Bottom, from one end of Pennsylvania Avenue to the other.

The time has come to draw a line and take a stand against the business-as-usual approach to national defense. We must all fulfill our obligation to the American people to ensure that our country remains safe and strong. Just as our men and women in uniform are doing their duty to this end, we in Washington must do ours.

Gates has become the guy who stands at the front of the 4th of July parade and carries the flag. People don't necessary believe in Gates, but a lot of people see the flag and follow it.

Gates has made several tough decisions lately, the F-22 in particular is a very tough call and I think it will cost the US more money than less in the long run, but whatever. What I really appreciate about what Gates is doing though is that he is trying to move the DoD from its rooted position, and the F-22 is the best example of a deeply rooted program. If that program moves, anything can be moved, and everyone knows it.

The fight isn't really about the F-22 anymore. The fight is about who controls the strategic priorities of the defense budget. It is a political fight that has nothing to do with the ideology of Democrats and Republicans, unless that ideology is about power and money. All Gates wants to do is move the DoD, and it doesn't matter to where it moves, only that it gets off the road it is on. Any direction will do, because once the move takes place, then the thinking begins.

I am a big fan of the F-22, and I think we should build around 400, but I support Gates move to cut it because this debate is no longer about the F-22. Anyone in favor of reforming the DoD supports Gates move to cut the F-22, and anyone who likes the business as usual entrenched interests value system of defense budgeting favors the F-22. That is what the F-22 has come to mean, a symbol for change or status quo.