Nov 19th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Speaking Its Name After All
Yesterday, jumping off a Steve Coll post I called the Pentagon’s de facto industrial policy “the industrial policy that dare not speak its name.” But alert reader G.S. knows the DOD org chart better than I and observes that there’s actually a Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Industrial Policy. In short, military-related industrial policy does, in fact, dare to speak its name. Meanwhile, all this cabinet-related transition speculation is getting dull. Better to make things interesting and start speculating on who Obama will tap for obscure posts like Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Industrial Policy. Who’ll be Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.
33 Responses to “Speaking Its Name After All”
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November 19th, 2008 at 12:16 pm
One wonders what Mixner will say about this.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Thanks for the mention!
November 19th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
The website clearly states that the mission of the Office is to sustain industry that supports defense, not to influence industrial policy for civilian purposes.
November 19th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
So contrary to that other poster’s claims, the DoD very much does see the need for policies with respect to the nation’s industrial base, and it actually seeks to make sure its actions are consistent with that policy.
The poster who wrote this clearly can’t read. As clearly stated in the text he quotes, the mission is to support industry needed for defense. It says nothing whatsoever about any non-defense purpose or goal. Any effects its policies may have on civilian industry are purely incidental to the goal of supporting defense.
November 19th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Answering our intrepid blogger’s question: dare I hope for Samantha Power for the job at State on democracy, human rights, and labor?
Or perhaps she can become a human rights czar (odd as that sounds)?
November 19th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
DTM,
Your original claim was that the effects of DoD spending on the nation’s industrial base were just a byproduct of spending a lot, and not the result of a policy.
No, my claim is that the effects of DoD spending on non-Defense industry are just a byproduct. The text you just quoted confirms that the goal is to support defense, not to support civilian industry.
I don’t know if you’re just pretending not to understand this, or whether you’re truly incapable of understanding it, but either way you’re wrong.
November 19th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
At the Deputy Undersecretary level, Obama won’t be making the choices, his Cabinet Secretaries will and he’ll get a veto if he wants it.
There are a couple hundred appointees at that level, he and his transition team don’t have time to fill all those posts.
November 19th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
You all realize that the United States has had an industrial policy related to military needs for its uentire history, right?
Federal arsenals? Naval shipyards? Armor, ordnance, and aircraft plants? Is this news?
The Army Industrial College was organized in 1924 as a reaction to the industrial mobilization that occurred in 1917-19 for the first world war, and is still going strong:
http://www.ndu.edu/icaf/history/index.htm
November 19th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
You are all wrong. I have declared that federal investments regarding industry which are justified as military spending are in fact purely motivated for military purposes. In order to disprove my claim you will have to quote military officials on the record saying that it is exactly the opposite. If you do not find this, I will keep saying you’re wrong until you admit you’re wrong. I am right. I have said this repeatedly, and I am convincing when I say it.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
Congresscritters clearly have political motives for promoting defense-related spending in their own states and districts, just as they have political motives for other kinds of spending in their constituencies. That is obviously not an “industrial policy.” It’s pork.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
dare I hope for Samantha Power for the job at State on democracy, human rights, and labor?
My understanding has long been that she doesn’t want a formal job, she wants to be able to speak her mind. If you’re looking for a redhead woman for the job, I’d bet on Suzanne Nossel.
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