To say that I agree with Donald Rumsfeld on something is an odd position for me to be in. Normally his chest beating and fist shaking get all the headlines. But quietly he has been wielding his budget axe towards the Pentagon in a way that must make congressmen scowl. He is not cutting the Pentagon’s overall budget, he is killing programs considered boondoggles and shifting their funding to more useful projects. Most people know of the “Crusader” self-propelled artillery project that he nixed, but the Washington Post reports on some of the other programs that are being reviewed in this article. It is hard for me to believe that a Republican administration is taking the lead in stemming the tide of shortsighted Pentagon wish lists and congressional pork barrel defense spending to make a sensible defense strategy based on needs. Well Rummy if you make it happen then good for you, but I won’t hold my breath.
