In efforts to wring an additional $400 billion in cost-savings over 12 years out of the Defense Department, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said budget cutters should avoid the âmanagerial cowardiceâ of across-the-board cuts.
In a question-and-answer session at the U.S. Army Engineer School at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, Gates, who will retire this summer, said the proposed reductions need to be âvery carefully thought through,â rather than the âpolitically expedientâ alternative of across-the-board cuts.
âMy concern is that almost everybody in Washington sees this as a math problem, as opposed to a strategic problem,â the secretary said. âSo Iâm trying to frame the process in the Department of Defense so that weâll continue the efficiencies that we began last year, and weâll look at marginal missions and capabilities for some of those that have value, but are not core missions for us.â