Current And Former Defense Officials

First the slander regarding the defense budget (a 4% year over year increase is apparently the new "gutted"), now the slander of the man who owns it. It's rather predictable that "current and former defense officials" who have something to gain -- or more accurately, lose -- in the reallocation of resources are now slandering Defense Secretary Gates.

The changes in the budget represent a shift that's long overdue. High tech military toys are important but we've been over prioritizing them. The military power that wins the kind of wars we actually fight is far more conventional than what we fantasized about during the cold war.

Bush Sr. and Clinton (under the recommendation of Rumsfeld) went entirely in the wrong direction when they reallocated funds in order to make the military more about technology and less about boots on the ground. This latest move represents a vital correction.