----- Original Message ----- From: Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <mailto:Undisclosed-Recipient:;@mindspring.com> Sent: Friday, April 27, 2001 3:15 PM Subject: RUMSFELD SEEKS BILLIONS MORE FOR PENTAGON 04/26/2001 - Updated 11:09 PM ET Billions sought for arms By Dave Moniz and Andrea Stone, USA TODAY WASHINGTON - As Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld nears the end of a top-to-bottom review of the Pentagon, he is expected to seek a large boost in defense spending - $200 billion-$300 billion over the next six years, Defense Department sources familiar with his plans say. An increase in that range for the military amounts to a 10%-15% boost over the Pentagon's current spending blueprint of about $2 trillion from 2002 through 2007. During his campaign in 2000, President Bush called for increasing defense spending by $45 billion over nine years. He left open the possibility of seeking more money for the Pentagon, which has a budget of $296 billion for 2001. A budget boost as big as Rumsfeld is eyeing could trigger opposition in Congress, which is forcing Bush to scale back the size of his $1.6 trillion tax cut and resisting his call for cuts in many domestic programs. Bush has ordered Rumsfeld to review ways to modernize the military. Although he has kept his findings private, three sources familiar with his thinking have provided USA TODAY details of some of his expected recommendations. The sources say Rumsfeld, who might outline his plans to Bush as early as next week, is expected to propose: Investing more in satellites, unmanned aircraft and space technology. De-emphasizing the role of ground troops. Among the ideas is reorganizing the Army's 12,000-to-15,000-member divisions into 3,700-troop brigades to make the service more flexible. Retiring Air Force B-1 bombers, which cost $200 million each, and purchasing more B-2 "stealth" bombers. The Air Force has 21 B-2s that cost $1.3 billion each, but the new versions are expected to cost half as much. Replacing aging aircraft much sooner than the current life cycle of 30-40 years. Launching a reorganization of the services that would include contracting to private companies some functions not directly related to fighting wars, such as maintenance, supply and accounting. Rumsfeld's spokesman, Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, cautioned that the defense secretary has not made final decisions on the proposals. Since he took over the Pentagon's top post in January, Rumsfeld has convened 18 working groups to focus on issues ranging from the military's mission in a post-Cold War world to the makeup of conventional forces. The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines have had limited input, but they are expected to be briefed before Rumsfeld makes his report public. Christopher Hellmann, an analyst for the Center for Defense Information, a think tank in Washington, says such a large increase in defense spending during peacetime "is absolutely unjustifiable." He compares the higher spending plan with Vietnam War era boosts. On the other side is Eliot Cohen, director of the Strategic Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University. He says the Pentagon needs to make up for a decade of spending cuts: "There really is a backlog and a deficit in maintenance and modernization." Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space PO Box 90083 Gainesville, FL. 32607 (352) 337-9274 http://www.space4peace.org [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Marxist-Leninist-List mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/marxist-leninist-list
