Pointed Comments

What could make the Quadrennial Defense Review a better product? That was one of the topics up for debate at today's panel discussion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Here's one idea: Ban PowerPoint presentations, said Robert Soule of the Institute for Defense Analyses. Soule served as director of the Pentagon’s program analysis and evaluation (PA&E) office from July 1998 through April 2001 and worked on President Obama's Defense Department transition team. Throughout the QDR process, Soule said it helps if there are fewer briefings, in lieu of more emphasis on discussion. He also counseled that the review should focus on a "reasonably small number" of issues -- and that it not get bogged down by detailed modeling and simulations.

Barry Blechman, co-founder of the Henry L. Stimson Center, agreed with Soule that the QDR should focus on fewer issues, saying 10 is all right, but six is preferred. In addition, Blechman said having small staffs working on the review is more effective. Ideally, Blechman would like to see senior leaders from across the government, not just the Defense Department, working together on "America's grand strategy to confront" future challenges. The agreed-upon strategy would ideally take the form of a short, closely held memo, said Blechman.

"It might be time for us to change the law to shake things up," said Creighton Greene, a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. The QDR process may have become too institutionalized, too routine, he said, to create effective strategy and policy changes.

Before the panel discussion, Michèle Flournoy, under secretary of defense for policy, addressed the audience. She said she thinks this Quadrennial Defense Review will be an important one and added that it will differ from past reviews because of its "whole-of-government" approach, through which Pentagon planners are accepting intellectual help and input from other government agencies, allied partners, think tanks, academia and the private sector.