Defense
44 is wading further into efforts to avoid deep cuts to national defense and domestic spending, telling an Iowa newspaper he is “absolutely confident” a deal that pares the deficit by $4 trillion will be passed. – Defense News
44 wants to get into negotiations to resolve sequestration and the fiscal cliff “right after the election,” a senior White House adviser told reporters on Wednesday, following up on the president’s assertion that Washington could reach a “grand bargain” in “six months.” – Politico
Bob Woodward says 44 got some of his facts wrong on sequester at Monday night’s debate. – Politico
The U.S. Defense Department plans to purchase weapons and equipment geared to combat in the Asia-Pacific, a maritime-heavy region that will require long-range, stealthy systems that were rarely used over the past decade of combat. – Defense News
The Army is staring headlong into a “new era” as the war in Afghanistan grinds to a finish, handing military leaders a prime “opportunity” to mold the service into the dominant ground fighting force for decades, according to a top Defense Department official. – DEFCON Hill
To guide the Army through the coming budget crunch, the service’s acquisition agencies are putting together an unprecedentedly comprehensive 30-year modernization plan. By coming up with a single road map that integrates research, development, procurement, as well as equipment sustainment, they hope to protect the investments they believe are critical to the Army’s long-term future. – AOL Defense
The U.S. Navy would like to develop an underwater system similar to the Aegis shield that protects its surface ships with a bubble of situational awareness, says Navy Oceanographer Rear Adm. Jonathan White, director of oceanography, space and maritime domain awareness. – Aviation Week
The first in a slew of Army units designed to expand American military presence across the globe is heading Africa Command, tasked with forging and increasing military cooperation with U.S. allies on the continent, according to Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter. – DEFCON Hill
Bill Gertz reports: Retired Navy Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations until a year ago, said the coming defense budget sequester will be tantamount to shooting the military in the head. – Washington Times’ Inside the Ring
Concerns about ship numbers may seem passé. They also seemed passé to many in the late 19th century, which is exactly why Mahan wrote “The Influence of Sea Power Upon History.” If we’ve again become cavalier about maintaining the freedom of the seas, it’s because a powerful U.S. Navy has accustomed us to indifference. Weaken the Navy further, and that’s a luxury we’ll lose. – Wall Street Journal (subscription required)
Rachel Kleinfeld writes: Strategy starts by looking at our threats and opportunities, then matches spending to our global ambitions. Pulling numbers out of a hat – whether to chop the Pentagon or raise the base budget – is no way to make these judgment calls. But conservative hawks and small-government aficionados are playing chicken with the Pentagon budget. – AOL Defense
Robbin Laird writes: Although called an LHA, [the America] is not. Rather than being a Landing Helicopter Assault ship, it really is a flagship for 21st century operations. – AOL Defense
The War
In his windowless White House office, presidential counterterrorism adviser John O. Brennan is compiling the rules for a war the 44th administration believes will far outlast its own time in office, whether that is just a few more months or four more years. – Washington Post
The looming federal budget crunch, a sense that major attacks on the United States are unlikely and new bipartisan criticism of the sprawling counterterrorism bureaucracy may mean that the open checkbook era is nearing an end. – New York Times
A terrorism case long predating the 9/11 attacks returned to court here on Tuesday with the third attempt by a federal judge to impose a prison sentence on the man known as the Millennium Bomber, Ahmed Ressam. This time, Mr. Ressam got 37 years, up 15 years from the two previous sentences of 22 years – both overturned as too lenient by federal appeals court panels. – New York Times
A Saudi man accused of helping to plot Al Qaeda’s attack on the destroyer Cole in 2000 told a military commission judge at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Wednesday that he would boycott his case if military guards forced him to wear chains as a condition of coming to court. – New York Times
Attorneys defending the man accused of masterminding the U.S.S. Cole attack want documents on a U.S. drone strike in 2002 that killed another suspected of planning the attack. – DEFCON Hill
