(Army Times) Editorial: The new readiness

[unhappycamper]

The new readiness

Anyone who thinks Robert Gates won’t make big changes during his second stint as defense secretary hasn’t been paying attention.

His essay in January’s Foreign Affairs called for a strategy of balance, a point Gates recently echoed before Congress: The U.S. military must retain the ability to fight conventional wars but improve its counterinsurgency capabilities — and make tough choices to do that on tightening budgets.

In other words, the “do everything, buy everything” days are over, Gates said.

Since taking office in 2006, Gates has accused the military of spending too much time and money preparing for conventional future wars at the expense of planning for the kinds of counterinsurgency efforts now underway in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But Gates’ critics say the future is too unpredictable, and the high-end capabilities he criticizes are vital to fighting both nation-states and insurgents.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/community/opinion/army_editorial_readiness_021609/%2e