| Moved to Saturday for more discussion ... |
Thursday, March 26, 2009 --10:00 am -- 2118 Rayburn -- Open
The Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee will meet to receive testimony on the requirements for the future capabilities of the United States maritime forces.
Witnesses
Dr. Loren B. Thompson
Chief Operating Officer
Lexington Institute
Rear Admiral William Houley, USN (ret)
Mr. Ron O'Rourke
Senior Naval Analyst
Congressional Research Service
Dr. Thomas P.M. Barnett
Senior Managing Director
Enterra Solutions, LLC
I wonder if the members of the House realize this has the potential to be one of the most interesting non-budget Navy discussions in Washington DC in many years. I wonder if CSPAN is paying attention, and sees how this could be one of the best made for TV debates we ever see regarding the defense debate. Hell, I wonder if FoxNews, MSNBC, or ABC even gets it. Think about it.
Essentially, Gene Taylor has created a panel that will almost certainly contrast very different perspectives on the national security debate in this country. The panel will offer Dr. Loren B. Thompson's very industrial view in what will almost certainly be in enormous contrast to Dr. Thomas P.M. Barnett's strategic view. Those two may not agree on any single question asked by any member of the House, which is why this panel has all kinds of potential. The panel will also include Bill Houley and Ronald O'Rourke. If it was me, I'd sit Dr. Thompson and Dr. Barnett in the middle of the panel beside each other, and the other two on the ends so they don't get burned by any spontaneous fireworks that might break out in the creative friction.
I love this panel. Let us not forget Dr. Loren B. Thompson was one of SECNAV Winters biggest critics, because Winter was too critical of the shipbuilding industry. Let us also not forget Dr. Thomas P.M. Barnett was who wrote about The Seven Deadly Sins of Network-Centric Warfare, which btw, 10 years and 2 months later is a very interesting historical reflection of where we have been and where we are today.
RADM Bill Houley is also going to be a fascinating member of the panel. He is a former submariner, and has also written one of the most critical Proceedings articles published this year (available free). The key points of that Proceedings article suggests how he might add tremendous value to this discussion. |