The fiscal plan has drastically reduced the amount of surplus dollars available to develop the kind of advanced weaponry the administration desires, not only for its missile shield but also for modernizing conventional forces. Some Republicans have raised similar concerns. But the administration does not accept the Democrats' budget analysis. And some military officials have suggested that Rumsfeld could modernize without spending huge sums. Bush's efforts to scale back U.S. peacekeeping missions and to build a missile shield are also facing sharpened opposition.
Overseas allies remain deeply skeptical.
And having already lost momentum on missile defense, the Republicans have now lost their Senate majority. Finally, Rumsfeld has come under criticism from senior military officers and powerful members of Congress who, worried that he may try to cancel favored weapons programs, reduce forces or close military bases, have accused him of ignoring them in his deliberations on overhauling the Pentagon. As a result, Rumsfeld has been on a public relations offensive in the last month, visiting Congress to plead for patience, consulting the military's most senior officers, sitting for interviews with reporters and inviting independent defense policy analysts to breakfast.