War games: why a meddling Congress doesn't always make the best defense.

• Author: Crowe, William J., Jr.
• Position: Excerpt from In the Line of Fire

Congress has 110 new members. Many earned their seats in Washington by promising to attack wasteful government expenses--not the least of which are military outlays. Our defense budget, they said campaigning, should be driven by what's best for the country, not pork-barrel politics. No question, they're right, and I wish them the best of luck. But don't get your hopes up.

They, like the people they replaced, will soon learn that while logic dictates that the defense budget should be driven by national strategy, every incentive works against congressmen thinking of the big picture.

Congressmen might find it interesting to debate geopolitical strategy--whether, for example, Congress should approve of convoying Kuwaiti tankers. But actually recording votes on the subject is a risky proposition. In 1950, for example, we put Korea outside our defense perimeter, and look what happened. When a bad decision is made, those who vote for it are likely to be blamed, which means that congressmen generally shy away from policy decisions. Bad policy decisions can sweep you out of office faster than almost anything else.

For congressmen, thinking about the big picture can also mean shooting themselves in the foot. If a legislator argues that the American global situation suggests a smaller military, that might mean, for example, killing the A-12 program. Then everybody who wants the A-12 will say, "Wait a minute, I agreed with that strategy, but I didn't think that strategy meant no A-12." We all witnessed this phenomenon as Congress began drawing down the military in the wake of the Soviet demise. Radically cutting defense jobs during a recession is a painful business. Thus, the primary concern of the congressman from Detroit isn't the defense of the country, but how many jobs the Defense Department can give to Detroit and how well he can protect those jobs. Those considerations bring defense questions fight into his backyard, where he can get his teeth into them. And he better, or they will come back to bite him.

Given that defense expenditures are so profoundly political, is there any way to inject more efficiency into the system? There is, but it will mean streamlining the relationship between Congress and the Defense Department.

Among the most counterproductive (and intensely aggravating) aspects of this relationship is the congressional proclivity to micromanage defense programs. Congress simply should not be involved in second-guessing every...