Potentially False SCMR Logic

Colin Clark at Breaking Defense has a piece up entitled "SCMR Concludes Pacific Pivot Needs More Cash, Missions:  GEN Dempsey", after CJCS told the Senate Armed Services Committee that DOD would “further prioritize missions within the context of a continued rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region.”  His conclusion?  "The next Pentagon budget will almost certainly include increased spending for the Navy, Marines, and Air Force to boost their presence and operations in the Asia-Pacific region."

While I would be all too happy if Mr. Clark's reading of those tea-leaves were true, he misses one other possibility; that the next budget would NOT in fact include INCREASED spending, but that the next budget would deal smaller CUTS to those services than it does to the Army.  This too, is a method of "prioritizing missions".

The proof will be in the PB15 budget pudding.

Bryan McGrath