Krepinevich recommends military think (and buy) strategically

My latest edition of Foreign Affairs magazine came last week and I'm finally making some progress on reading.

This morning I finished Andrew Krepinevich Jr.'s article, "The Pentagon's Wasting Assets: The Eroding Foundation of American Power."

Those that agree with Defense Secretary Robert Gate's recent recommendations to cut expensive weapons systems and programs, would appreciate the article as the author suggests many American military capabilities are useless against irregular warfare and capabilities being developed by other countries.

Krepinevich recommends that programs like the Army's Future Combat System and short-range strike aircraft (I can only guess that he's referring to the F-22 or other fighter aircraft) need to be cut in favor of longer-range systems like the next generation bomber and the Navy's long-range unmanned strike system.

The Pentagon canceled the FCS program last week and when Gates was at Maxwell AFB in April, recommended ending the F-22 program in favor of the F-35. But, the F-22 is proving to be a sticking point so we'll see if Gates is able to reform military acquisitions and spending and reshape the strategies for the future as he'd like to and as Krepinevich encourages.

Krepinevich is the president of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments and the author of Seven Deadly Scenarios. You can read the article here. Subscribers can read the entire text, but non-subscribers will only be able to read a portion of it.