Defense budget will stay large under Obama

As president, Barack Obama will keep a large military budget and will involve the defense industry much more than it has been in the past, according to one of the candidate’s senior national security advisers.

An Obama White House, however, would trim the emergency supplemental requests, said former Secretary of the Navy Richard Danzig.

{mosads}The Bush administration has been pouring about $600 billion into the Pentagon’s budget to cover not only the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but also the acquisition of several large new weapons systems.

Danzig would not give a number for the yearly defense budget under an Obama administration, but said that the funding will be substantial. He stressed that money is needed to repair worn equipment and revitalize a military that has been at war for seven years.

However, he said, “supplementals will be reduced as a funding source.”

A new Obama administration will have to work with the existing internal expertise at the Pentagon and balance that out with the initiatives of a new administration.

Danzig, whose opinions provide a glimpse into how Obama will handle defense, said that the defense industry should be  “a critical partner” to the Department of Defense.

During the campaign and at the Democratic National Convention, Obama has shunned lobbyists. Defense-lobbyist presence at the conventions is not as strong as that of other interest groups. This year, in particular, the defense industry has not publicly sponsored any events at the convention, preferring to quietly help sponsor some events without any publicity.

Danzig indicated that the Obama campaign supports industry competitions for what is perhaps one of the most contentious contract competitions — one that has riled not only political allegiances across the country, but also international partners. The Pentagon has stepped into selecting the contractors for the Air Force's new midair refueling tankers, after Boeing successfully protested an Air Force award of the $35 billion contract to Northrop Grumman and EADS, the parent company of Airbus.

But as the Pentagon is trying to redo the competition and revise the requests for proposals, Boeing has been threatening to pull out of the competition if it is not given six months to prepare its new bid. The Pentagon wanted to make the new contract award by the end of the year. Any extension of the timeline would lead into a new administration. Boeing is headquartered in Chicago and has some strong and powerful Democratic supporters in Congress.

"Two competitors are welcome," said Danzig, adding that the Pentagon should answer Boeing's concerns.

During a discussion hosted by the Truman National Security Project, Danzig hit back at the notion that Democrats are considered weak on national security.

{mospagebreak}“It’s bizarre that Democrats are [considered] less strong on national security,” he said. He said, however, that the challenge will be to use all the elements of national security. He hinted at a strategy to have a “sustainable” and “balanced” national security strategy that will endure over the long term and not just for immediate needs. “Our military has been allowed to deteriorate because of Iraq,” he said.

More money needs to be poured into the State Department, while the Peace Corps needs to be doubled, Danzig said.
 
Obama’s national security advisers, including Danzig and William Perry, a secretary of Defense under President Clinton, were aggressive in attacking GOP candidate Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) and the Republicans' argument that Obama is too inexperienced to be commander in chief.

{mosads}Danzig said that he has never seen Obama lose his temper, even in situations of "exceptional stress."

By comparison, McCain is known for "losing it," Danzig said, adding that McCain is known for forming an opinion or coming to a decision quickly, at which point he "digs in."

McCain's volatile temper is well-known to Beltway insiders, but Democrats at their convention are trying to make this known to the larger audience, as part of a tug-of-war about which candidate is prepared to be president.

Danzig traveled with Obama on his recent trip to Europe and the Middle East. At some point in Jerusalem, Obama was so tired that he said he could fall asleep on his feet, Danzig recalled. But despite the "extraordinary fatigue … I have never seen Barack Obama lose his temper; I have never seen him lose his balance," Danzig said.

Danzig added that he was also impressed by Obama's ability to listen.

McCain has particularly touted his national security experience as a former Navy officer, Vietnam prisoner of war and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. He has attacked Obama for a lack of experience, saying that he would not be prepared to be commander in chief.

On Wednesday, the theme of the convention speeches will be national security and foreign policy as the Democrats attempt to show that they are strong on military and diplomacy issues.