An Independent QDR?

Members of Congress are calling for an independent review of the nation's defenses, claiming the Pentagon's upcoming Quadrennial Defense Review is "budget driven", rather than what's needed to fight the War on Terror. From Defense News:

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., said he will order a study of the long-term threats to U.S. national security, and from that determine the weapons and manpower needs of the military. Hunter insisted he does not want a review based on what the Department of Defense thinks we can afford, but on what we need.

The review, to be conducted by committee members and staffers, is to serve as a counterweight to the Pentagon's Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR). The QDR is expected to help shape military strategy and force size, and could seal the fate of weapons such as the F/A-22 stealth fighter and the DD(X) destroyer.

But Hunter and others on the House Armed Services Committee worry that the Pentagon review will be too heavily influenced by questionaffordableility.

Personally, I think that cost has everything to do with "what we need". If the weapons we need cannot be afforded in appropriate numbers to defend ourselves, what good are they. If Congress wants to continue funding legacy weapons, let them purchase tried and true platforms like F-16s, or M-1 Abram's tank. At the rate we're going with DDX and the Raptor, only a handful can be bought, while potential enemies like China deploy huge numbers of cheap but capable ships and fighters.

Thanks to Daily Intel Briefing for this!