Bravo Gates

Fred Kaplan has this sharp analysis of the new Pentagon budget. Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has welcomed the budget but asserted his authority, “the buck stops with Congress.” Not quite. The buck usually flows from Congress…for all the unwanted weapons systems that Gates wants to axe. I’ll be keeping track of this perennial outrage. With the real needs the country has right now, there should be zero tolerance for Congressional bloating of the Defense budget.