Defense Panel: Next President to Face Crisis Posted by Shawn Brimley

The McCain campaign has spent millions in ads and hours of time trying to make political hay out of Senator Biden's common sense proposition that the next President is likely to be tested during the early days of his tenure. Today's Inside Defense (subscription required) is reporting that the Defense Business Board, a senior group of business leaders that advises the Secretary of Defense, is essentially validating Biden's comments:

The next president is likely to face a major international crisis within his first nine months in office, according to a senior group of business advisers to the defense secretary.

Accordingly, the Defense Business Board says the new administration should set a goal to win Senate confirmation of key Pentagon posts in the first 30 days of the inauguration, in order to have a full team in place to deal with such a contingency.

Michael Bayer, chairman of the Defense Business Board and veteran Pentagon consultant, this week called for the next administration to move quickly to avoid encountering civilian leadership vacuums that often accompany political transitions.

"Prepare for a likely first 270 days crisis," Bayer warns in an Oct. 23 briefing. "Too many presidents were ill prepared for this."

Could Senator Biden have phrased his comments a little better? Sure. Could Senator McCain's campaign be a little more erratic? Not likely.

Comments

[Don Bacon]

Well, I'd say that when the Defense Business Board speaks, we should listen. hahahahahaha

[Peace]

The major foreign policy crisis in the first nine months could be an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear weapons program. That is why it is neccessary to come to some sort of agreement with Iran over Iraq and its nuclear weapons program. If the US does not have any arrangements with Iran, American forces in Iraq could bear the brunt of the Iranian response.

[Jack]

I think the “messiah” should surround himself with tall, smart and brave people. This empty suit that you elected is going to run for cover at the first sign of crisis. It will be hard for him to direct the defense from under the bed. He is going to need to do more than throw basketballs at the bad guys. Of course he could get Joe Biden to go talk to them, that may bore them to death or he could stand behind Rahm Emanuel. That is if he could bend down low enough both in stature and respectability. When the planes hit on 9/11 the whispered response was “thank God” we have George W. Bush and not Al Gore. The response to the first BHO crisis will be “my God” where is President George Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney when we need them.

AJM