Many sage observers blame reactionary elements in the military, with their industry and Congressional counterparts, for thwarting change. By his actions, Rumsfeld seems to be signaling that he agrees. But the secretary fools himself in seeking exclusive counsel from the outside. Out of power Beltway bandits and consultants or retired four- star general officers are not disinterested outsiders. In the case of the gaggle of consultants Rumsfeld is appointing to the 11 panels in his review, there are institutional interests galore.
Outsiders merely protect the parochial power and budgets of inside clients.
What is more, Rumsfeld ignores that while the defense budget has declined since the Cold War, and there have been dramatic reductions in the size of the U.S. military, the one group that has profited from the current way the Pentagon does things is the outside consulting world. Shake their resumes and more often than not out falls a retired officer or defense industry shill. They toil in a system hardly lubricated by patriotism or ideas. The legions of desk warriors who feed at the Pentagon trough think exactly the thoughts that their contracts say to think, push the weapons their businesses want. They love transformation because it suggests more studies and new contracts.