海角大神

Long immune from cost-cutting measures as it fights two tough wars, the US military has now come under increasing pressure to rein in its budget.

This week, Defense Secretary Robert Gates offered some insights into how, precisely, the Pentagon will begin doing this.

The goal for now, as outlined last month by President Obama in his deficit reduction plan, is to hold the growth in national security spending below inflation over the next 12 years, which will require finding $400 billion worth of cuts from the defense budget over the same period of time.

First, however, the Pentagon must review its military commitments around the world, Mr. Gates said. 鈥淭he new comprehensive review will ensure that future spending decisions are focused on strategy and risks, and are not simply a math and accounting exercise,鈥� he added. 鈥淭he overarching goal will be to preserve a US military capable of meeting crucial national security priorities, even if fiscal pressure requires reductions in the force鈥檚 size.鈥�

Steps to budget-cutting

Defense officials say they will scour the budget and 鈥渂e even more aggressive in curtailing bureaucratic excess and overhead.鈥� But this will not reach the White House鈥檚 cost-cutting goals, Gates emphasized.

The Pentagon must also take a close look at programs like health care and retirement benefits that are driving 鈥渢he dramatic increase in defense operating costs,鈥� Gates said. This may not be politically popular, but as a sign of lawmakers鈥� commitment to bringing costs down, the House voted last week to raise premiums for individual service members鈥� health care coverage from $230 to $260 a year. This will be the first cost increase for Tricare, the military鈥檚 health plan, in 16 years.

This represents a mere fraction of the Pentagon鈥檚 exploding health care costs, which will probably continue growing at a rate of five to seven percent a year, says Todd Harrison, senior fellow for budget studies at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

Strategic review

Much more important will be a strategic review, 鈥渋dentifying options, for the president and the Congress, where the nation is willing to accept risk in exchange for reduced investment in the Department of Defense,鈥� said Gates.

He called it the 鈥渉ardest category, strategically 鈥� and I would say also intellectually.鈥�

America has embarked on cost-cutting strategic reviews before. In the wake of the Korean War, the Eisenhower administration took what it called 鈥渢he new look鈥� at defense.

Eisenhower 鈥渕ade a shift in strategy from the Truman era, to focus more heavily on nuclear deterrence, and the threat of massive retaliation to deter conflict,鈥� says Mr. Harrison. 鈥淚f you look at the budgets between [fiscal year] 1955 to 1958, you see the Air Force and Navy procurement nearly double, and the Army budget went down to almost zero.鈥�

Why? 鈥淭he Army was struggling to catch up in a nuclear world,鈥� Harrison explains. 鈥淎nd the budget reflected that shift in strategy.鈥�

Now the Obama administration must go through a similar process. 鈥淏efore you get to the 鈥榗ut鈥� list, you have to say 鈥榃hat are the capabilities we鈥檙e going to need in the future? What are our highest priorities? And what are the low priorities that we鈥檙e going to do without?鈥� 鈥� Harrison says. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 where you should start.鈥�

In launching the Pentagon鈥檚 review process this week, Gates issued what some perceived as an ominous warning: 鈥淚f the political leadership of this country decides that it must reduce the investment in defense by hundreds of billions of dollars, then I don鈥檛 think we can afford to have anything that鈥檚 off the table.鈥�