Bottom Up?

The Pentagon is keeping mum about how it will frame the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review after receiving a letter from former top defense officials who believe the Defense Department should eschew the traditional QDR process and emulate the 1993 Bottom-Up Review by conducting a comprehensive assessment of the U.S. defense posture.

"We have seen the letter and respect its authors and their service to the country," said Defense Department spokesman Col. Jim Gregory. Politico and The New York Times reported this week on the letter, which was signed by five former deputy defense secretaries. "DOD will prepare a QDR report this year, as it is legally obligated to do, but the secretary has not yet issued specific guidance for the review process," Gregory added. That does not rule out a Bottom-Up Review; Gregory said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has not yet issued guidance for the QDR process, to include how it will be prepared.

In addition, Hagel has not yet picked the co-chairs of the independent panel that will assess the QDR, nor has he determined "how best to engage them during the review process," Gregory said.