Levin Warns of Defense Cuts, McCain Warns Against

Carl Levin warned today that the "Pentagon budget will include large, painful cuts." At least that was the paraphrase from the AP. It's not yet clear what weapons systems may be on the chopping block, but as John McCain said at today's inaugural FPI conference, the Obama administration is going to have a very tough time fighting the war in Afghanistan and keeping its campaign pledge to increase the end strength of the Army and Marines if it makes serious cuts to the defense budget. Some excerpts from McCain's remarks today:

I think it's very tough to square the present budget proposal with the size of the military ... Afghanistan ... gradual withdrawal from Iraq. I think it's an unrealistic assessment, particularly, again, looking at the situation in the world. I do not predict any kind of conflict with China, but it should disturb us a bit when a U.S. Navy ship in international waters is surrounded by Chinese -- I don't know what you want to call them -- vessels. So there's tensions that can only be addressed, I think, both through good diplomacy and furthering good relations, but also a military capability that is one which serves as a deterrence to adventurism and misbehavior in any part of the world....

So -- and back to the budget for one second here. I don't see how you could have a reduction and still acquire some of the weapon systems we need to. Classic example of our forward thinking and yet mistakes at the same time is the Future Combat Systems, the Army's proposal which is now up to about, I believe, $130 billion and we still haven't got the first operational aspect of it, which was going to provide us with our equipment for future conflicts, and actually it's stalled out.

You could make that same argument about other weapons systems, including the Joint Strike Fighter.

So we're going to have to regain some of the balance between affordable and doable weapons systems, but at the same time not have the kinds of cost overruns. Defense procurement reform, which I share priority with the president, is an absolute requirement.

This was the only time China came up during the day's conference, which was interesting insofar as arguments about defense spending invariably come around to the looming threat from China. McCain's obsession with waste in the Pentagon budget is exceeded only by his obsession with earmarks, and yet he doesn't hesitate to urge additional spending to finance an expanded Army and Marine Corps for the war on terror and to deter future "adventurism" by the Chinese by investing in high-tech weapons systems.

Of course, with Congress spending $26.7 billion each day it has been in session this term, come 2012 it may be very hard for Obama to explain to the American people why his administration shortchanged the United States military on manpower and critical weapons systems and destroyed good union jobs in the process.