Gates warns against big cuts in future spending

NEWPORT, R.I. -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Friday warned against making any significant cuts in future defense spending, arguing that the United States cannot afford to disarm as it has done after most recent conflicts. Speaking at the Naval War College, Gates said the Pentagon needs annual budgets that allow the military to battle a range of threats even as forces leave Iraq.

"Every time we have come to the end of a conflict, somehow we have persuaded ourselves that the nature of mankind and the nature of the world have changed on an enduring basis and so we have dismantled our military and intelligence capabilities," he said. "My hope is that as we wind down in Iraq and whatever the level of our commitment in Afghanistan, that we not forget the basic nature of human kind has not changed."

Gates appeared here on the last leg of a weeklong speaking tour to share with the next generation of senior military officers the strategy underlying his fiscal 2010 budget priorities. He told an audience of future admirals he was committed to modernizing the Navy but signaled that the exact makeup of the service's fleet would get an in-depth look during the Quadrennial Defense Review now in progress.

"The United States must not take its current dominance for granted and needs to invest in the programs, platforms and personnel that will ensure that we remain preeminent at sea," he said. "But rather than go forward under the same assumptions that guided our shipbuilding during the Cold War, I believe we need to develop a more rigorous analytical framework before moving forward."

Gates, who last week announced major changes to many of the military's largest development and procurement projects, has put off making many revisions to Navy and Marine Corps programs until the completion of the QDR next year. That review, he has signaled, will determine the fate of programs like the next-generation cruiser and the Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle, which is designed to transport Marines from ship to shore.

"We have to take a hard look at where it would be necessary or sensible to launch another major amphibious action again," Gates said of the EFV. "In the 21st century, how much amphibious capability do we need?"

While he considers the precise makeup of the Navy fleet, Gates said he is certain of the need for the Littoral Combat Ship, a small vessel that operates close to shore. The LCS is a versatile ship that could be used for, among other missions, combating pirates, Gates said. "To carry out the missions we may face in the future -- whether dealing with nonstate actors at sea and near shore, or swarming speedboats -- we will need numbers, speed and the ability to operate in shallow waters."

Meanwhile, Gates argued for increased funding for the State Department, an agency he said is in "desperate need for more resources" to pay for foreign assistance and other programs. He also criticized Congress for failing to approve an fiscal 2009 budget for State until a month ago as part of the omnibus spending bill -- a move that delayed the start of new programs. Before adjourning last fall, lawmakers approved fiscal 2009 spending bills for the departments of Defense, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs, but took a pass on State "despite all the rhetoric on the Hill about the need to build civilian capacity," Gates said.