Mullen Echoes Obama: Pentagon Must 'Get A Grip' On Spending

[babylonsister]

Mullen says defense overspending must stop

Top US military official says Pentagon cannot afford budget bloat, hints at cuts

ANNE GEARAN
AP News

Dec 11, 2008 04:07 EST


The top U.S. military officer says the Pentagon cannot afford continued cost overruns and is hinting that some weapons systems may be cut or scaled back under President-elect Barack Obama.

"I'm obviously discouraged by the lack of cost control that we've got in so many ... of our programs," Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.

"We are going to have to get a grip on that or we will not be able to buy them," Mullen said Wednesday, "or we won't be able to buy them in the quantity we need."

Obama has said in a time of recession and rising federal debt he will go over the federal budget line by line. The Pentagon has the largest share of federal spending not tied to mandatory programs, and is fighting two expensive wars.

Obama and Defense Secretary Robert Gates plan "to take a very, very intense, focused, comprehensive view at what we're buying. And from that perspective, I think that's very healthy," Mullen told reporters at the Pentagon.

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http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/12/mullen_says_defense_overspendi.php

[jwirr]

1. He should give them all reading assignments: "The Rise and Fall

of the Great Powers" by Paul Kennedy; "The Sorrows of Empire" by Chalmers Johnson and "After the Empire" by Emmanuel Todd. When they are done reading then they can start talking to him with some intelligence.