By Marina Malenic
Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn yesterday told British officials that the United States is committed to reforming its Cold War-era export control system to work more effectively with its allies.
In bilateral talks with his British counterpart, Lynn said the two sides worked to “ease restrictions that prevent our militaries from sharing” defense technologies.
“While our troops are once again fighting together on the battlefield, our defense industries are too often held at arms length,” Lynn said during a speech in the House of Commons.
The current U.S. export control regime evaluates the suitability of equipment on the basis of potential military use. The analysis guidelines do not, however, take into account whether a particular product provides unique capabilities that could not be obtained another way, nor does it assess the risk of the equipment being used against the United States or its allies.
“And it does all this as slowly and bureaucratically as possible,” Lynn said.
The U.S.-U.K. Defense Trade Cooperation Treaty is one important step in improving the Cold War-era export control system bilaterally, according to Lynn. The treaty is currently before the Senate, and the Obama administration is strongly advocating its passage. If ratified, it would streamline export procedures and open the door to more cooperative weapons development efforts. By reducing the need for individual export licenses for each product, the treaty would facilitate greater exchange of defense goods, services and information.
“The cost-savings from such collaborations are significant,” said Lynn. “And the benefits of interoperability on the battlefield are clear.”
Beyond passage of the treaty, Lynn emphasized the Obama administration’s commitment to reforming the export control regime as a whole.
“In an era where research and development is global, we believe in building higher walls but around fewer systems,” he said. “A system of export control that protects only truly unique capabilities is better for our national security, our economy and our allies.”
Meanwhile, Lynn noted, a high-level Pentagon official is expected to travel to London in the coming days to brief British officials on the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR), a strategy review conducted once every four years. Lynn said the QDR will lead the U.S. military to make or continue three major changes in direction.
First, the Pentagon will continue institutionalizing its ability to wage irregular war, a process begun in last year’s budget cycle with the cancellation of several high-end weapon systems. Lynn said the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan “reflect the changing nature of war” and that the United States would bolster Special Operations forces to better fight them. He said battlefield enablers such as helicopter lift, mine-resistant vehicles and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance platforms would also see budget increases.
Second, the Pentagon will prepare for conflicts of longer duration by halting personnel reductions in the Navy and Air Force, and accelerating a planned increase of the Army and Marine Corps.
Third, the Pentagon will emphasize training to confront asymmetric tactics. Lynn noted that the superiority of U.S. and NATO forces in most conventional tactics has led adversaries to seek out unconventional means of attack.
“So we are making a special effort to broaden our military capabilities to counter unconventional weapons, from anti-satellite technologies and cyber threats on the high-end to IEDs and guerilla tactics on the low end,” Lynn said.
He added that the cyber domain will receive more attention in the president’s upcoming Fiscal Year 2011 budget proposal as well.