Pentagon's Budget is Out of Shape

Monetary constraints are making the Pentagon rethink how it manages its budget. The Pentagon’s budget is dominated by spending that is geared toward a conventional war. The only problem with this is that we are currently fighting two unconventional wars. Furthermore, future conventional wars seem unlikely due to the United States’ revulsion toward war casualties.

The Pentagon is debating whether or not to make cuts to the Joint Strike Fighter, F-22 raptor, C-17 transport plane, V-22 Osprey, the Army's Future Combat Systems, and many other programs. The spending cuts to these programs are seen as a way to meet present spending needs, while putting future needs on the back burner.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/18/us/politics/18defense.html?ref=us

United States military spending is greater than the rest of the world put together. This huge budget cannot last during an economic downturn and barrowing money from China presents a strategic problem. Defense Secretary Gates demonstrates his understanding of this during his testimony to Congress by saying, “One thing we have known for many months is the spigot of defense funding opened by 9/11 is closing.”

If the Pentagon is to thrive in the twenty-first century it must focus on cost effective programs instead of producing white elephants that it cannot afford.