[link|http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020320/ts_nm/attack_congress_defense_dc_3&printer=1|Not big enough]

Excerpt:

The U.S. military would be without adequate forces in the Pacific and European regions if resources continue to be diverted to Afghanistan (news - web sites) and the United States strikes Iraq, commanders of those regions said on Wednesday.


Gen. Joseph Ralston, chief of the command for the European region, and Admiral Dennis Blair, chief of the Pacific command, told the House Armed Services Committee their forces already were strapped.

"We do not have adequate forces to carry out our missions in the Pacific if the operations in Central Command continue at their ... current pace," Blair said of the effort in Afghanistan to root out the al Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites), which Washington blames for the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

With the Bush administration weighing military action against Iraq, which President Bush (news - web sites) included in his "axis of evil," the commanders said that would put additional strain on their regions.

"We do not have forces to do the missions you have outlined," Ralston told Rep. Ike Skelton of Missouri, top Democrat on the panel who posed the question.

I say:

Well, we got off to a good start with the military Clinton left behind. But the Cold War being over is itself over. Time to beef it up, and fast.

And buy the right stuff. Stuff that helps. Fuel-air bombs, daisy cutters, Predators and Tomohawks. The missile defense thing can be cut back if need be.

[link|http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=7421|Bad management is]

Excerpt:

"Today, DOD faces financial management problems that are
pervasive, complex, long standing, and deeply rooted in virtually
all business operations throughout the department," said Gregory
Kutz, director of the GAO?s financial management and assurance
section.

With $100 million set aside in the fiscal 2002 budget for
revamping the system, the Pentagon has started at the most
basic of levels, creating a "blueprint" to correct the problem,
Tina Jonas, deputy undersecretary for Defense and Financial
Management, told the Government Efficiency, Financial
Management and Intergovernmental Relations subcommittee of
House Committee on Government Reform.

The administration is asking Congress to approve a $379 billion
budget request for fiscal 2003, $48 billion more than last year.

The financial departments are paying bills closer to their due
date to reduce interest payments, collecting from contractors
that owe, cracking down on credit card delinquencies by
garnisheeing paychecks, and reducing overpayments or duplicate
payments, Jonas said.

These are solutions Schakowsky said she's heard before. She
pointing out the Pentagon's unproductive past, problems that
still exist today:

Seven years ago, the GAO reported the Pentagon was
unable to reliably report on the costs of its operations.
Seven years ago, the GAO reported the DOD was not
properly reporting billions of dollars of future liabilities
associated with environmental cleanup.
Seven years ago, the GAO reported the Pentagon was
unable to protect assets from fraud, waste, and abuse.
Twelve years ago, the GAO reported the Pentagon's
inventory management was a high risk for failure.
Twelve years ago, the GAO reported the weapon system
acquisition was a high risk for failure.

"Unfortunately, the list goes on and on," Schakowsky said. "We
have heard lots of talk, but we have not seen any progress."

I say:

And let's have accountability, too. Of course.