Robert Gates and the Military Budget

A couple of interesting reactions to the Obama administration's proposed defense cuts and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates's interest in taking on the defense procurement system. Michael Gerson's column in today's Washington Post is noteworthy because it's one of the few positive columns Gerson (President George W. Bush's former chief speechwriter) has penned about the new administration. Of course, most of the attention in the column is on Gates, a Bush holdover, and Obama is barely mentioned. The column is a good example of thoughtful conservative analysis that actually challenges Republican thinking on an issue. Unfortunately, it's not a typical example of the author's Post work. On most days, Gerson eschews serious conservative commentary for knee-jerk Obama-bashing.

Tony Auth's cartoon, inserted at the top of this post, draws on the iconic image of the Chinese dissident at Tiananmen Square in commenting on Gates's challenge to the "military-industrial complex" (that term itself an allusion to President Dwight D. Eisenhower's farewell address warning). Auth's metaphor is discouraging: Is Gates's cause truly that hopeless? Will the military industrialists really do anything to hold on to their power?