The DEW Line

Source Watch: Wheeler on Defense Budget

Earlier today, I forecasted that the DOD budget will soon equal the 5% of GDP benchmark clumsily called for by the American Enterprise Institute.

To sum up: the AEI's Gary J. Schmitt and Thomas Donnelly think the defense budget should rise until it hits about 5% of GDP. And, as I pointed out, that's redundant. The 2008 budget will be that high anyway.

Winslow Wheeler, former Senate staffer/current director of the Straus Military Reform Project, emailed to add:

Indeed, and now Donnelly and AEI will up their ante to 6%.  Remember: More is never enough.Consider also: If the economy goes into recession and slows, and if the defense budget goes down, but less, the % for GDP goes UP. If the economy grows rapidly and defense spending grows, but less, defense’s share of GDP goes down. If we can shrink the economy enough, Donnelly will get his wish.

Source Watch: Aboulafia on C-17

Richard Aboulafia, The DEW Line's favorite logorrheic aerospace analyst for the Teal Group, gave The Los Angeles Times on March 3 an interesting quote about the future of the approaching-death's-door-again C-17 production line.

Says the Times story:

But the program is likely to get another reprieve, much as it did last fall, because of strong congressional support, said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with Teal Group, an aerospace research firm.

"Congress might have to increase here and there, but it can be done," he said. "There is a very strong chance that there will be another dozen added this year."