Sen. John McCain, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned a Republican foreign policy conference of the “isolationist and protectionist” elements of the GOP that swept into Congress in the November elections. “Yes, I worry a lot” about erosion of support for the Afghan war among GOP lawmakers as the isolationist wing appears to rise. McCain, speaking today at the Foreign Policy Initiative conference, cited the long history of isolationism and protectionism in the Republican Party and pointed to Sen.-elect Rand Paul as one example of this most recent resurgence.

Auto take-off and landing will allow UAVs to deploy around the world without bringing their own launch-and recovery teams and equipment (such as a trailer containing a UAVs ground cockpit along with communications links), according to Lt. Gen. Philip Breedlove, the Air Force’s top requirements officer. And they can save the taxpayer a lot of money.

A task force convened by the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations warns that the current Afghan strategy may not succeed and questions “whether U.S. interests warrant such an investment.” We are, the group argues, “at a critical point.” The 112-page report, while noting some achievements such as training Afghan security forces, focuses on whether the current strategy is worth the cost of national treasure and can succeed in the face of familiar problems such as corruption and incompetence that face the Afghan and Pakistani governments.

The real question about the presidential deficit panel’s recommendaitons is, will they make it past Congress. The initial reaction to the proposed cuts from defense lawmakers has been, to be succinct, muted.

Many strategists and senior officers worry that the U.S. military may be losing its edge in the complex and expensive job of shaping the international scene. This requires power projection and the realistic threat of nuclear and conventional war. But it also requires the deployment of so-called soft power. Perhaps the Army Corps of Engineers should be remade into a vigorous expeditionary non-lethal aid weapon.

UPDATED:AIA Head Expresses “Grave Concerns“
The presidential commission charged with coming up with ways to slash the federal deficit looks likely to recommend $100 billion in cuts to the Pentagon budget. A draft of the commission’s recommendations was posted on the commission’s website Wednesday afternoon. It is portrayed as the recommendations of the panel’s co-chairs, But there are many buts to be considered.

“My sense is that the START Treaty ought to be ratified and ought to be ratified as soon as possible.” Those are the words of one of America’s most experienced and respected nuclear arms experts, Air Force Lt. Gen. Frank G. Klotz, who also happens to be the man in charge of protecting, arming and delivering the Air Force’s share of nuclear weapons.

Now that he’s been here a while (all the way back to AUSA) and seems likely to stay for the next five or 10 years, I thought today would be a good time to introduce you to the newest addition to the DoD Buzz team. John Reed, who came to us from my old haunts at Defense News, is now associate editor of DoD Buzz and editor of our sister website, Defense Tech. He covered the Army’s Unified Quest 2011 Alternative Futures Seminar and writes about one presenter who offered seven terror tech trends that his company has spotted.

The latest member of the Paul family — and a top Tea Party favorite — to win a federal election job wants the Pentagon’s substantial hide on the spending cutting board. This is the latest evidence that the Tea Party broadly favors cutting defense — and other federal spending — dollars as it brings its fear of the ballooning federal deficit to town. “Republicans traditionally say, oh, we’ll cut domestic spending, but we won’t touch the military. The liberals — the ones who are good — will say, oh, we’ll cut the military, but we won’t cut domestic spending,” said Senator-elect Rand Paul of Kentucky.

It’s not often you hear an old Navy hand, especially one who is an expert on the People’s Republic of China, voice the hope that China will build carriers, lots of them. But National War College professor Bernard Cole said just that today during a presentation about the Chinese navy. “As a former Navy man I’d love to see them build a fleet of aircraft carriers which, increasingly, are just good sub targets,” Cole said.

U.S. Air Force and Navy officials are set to deliver the Air-Sea Battle concept to Pentagon leaders within a month, a senior Air Force planning official said today. Representatives from both services have already briefed Defense Department brass on the topics to appear in the classified document meant to help the two services figure out how to defeat defenses aimed at holding U.S. ships and planes at bay, according to Lt. Gen. Philip Breedlove, the Air Force’s chief of operations, plans and requirements.

New Orleans – When the 3-D movie “Bwana Devil” came out in the early 1950s, audiences had to wear those funny paper and plastic glasses to see the special effect. No special eyewear will be needed as troops begin to get 3-D maps of Afghanistan. A specially equipped plane arrived in Afghanistan two weeks ago to begin the effort. This marks the first time the United States has produced such detailed maps of an entire country, according to a senior OSD official.

In light of delays with the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, the U.S. Air Force is set to begin looking at which of its newer F-16s will receive structural refurbishments, avionics updates, sensor upgrades or all three, the service’s top requirements officer said today.

UPDATED: Link to Video of Long Speech; USGIF Head Says NGA Director At Cusp Of “Perfect Opportunity” For Deep Change, Lays Out Risks
New Orleans — The new director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency unveiled major changes to how the organization does business, saying it must grow more nimble and push its products down to the lowest levels of the military. “I want to fundamentally change the users experience,” Letitia Long told the Geoint 2010 conference here. She spoke of building an intelligence community app store — details to follow — and of automating updates for crucial maps to free analysts and collectors of tedious work that can be better done automatically.

UPDATED: McKeon Sets HASC Priorities; Calls For Spending on “Threats of Tomorrow“
In the most surprising vote of the election for defense watchers, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton, was soundly defeated last night. Skelton, who has served in the House for 33 years, had been solidly ahead in most recent polls. Then the people voted and then he lost last night by more than 5 percent to Vicky Hartzler, who attracted Tea party support. Ooops. One other senior Democratic lawmaker on the HASC lost. Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi, chairman of the seapower committee, lost even though he was one of the most conservative Democrats in the House.

UPDATED: Link To Video of Clapper Speech; Congressional Aide, Former Intel Official Urge Caution in Intel Budget Move
New Orleans — In a clear effort to shake up the intelligence community, the Director of National Intelligence James Clapper is bringing back the head of allied intelligence in Afghanistan, author of a highly critical report of allied intelligence efforts there, to handle relations with U.S. intelligence agencies, foreign partners and those who use intelligence. And in a move that has the potential to reshape the relationship between the intelligence community and the Department of Defense, Clapper announced that he and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have tentatively agreed that the $53.1 billion National Intelligence Program will migrate in 2013 to the office of the Director of National Intelligence. This will have the effect of reducing the Pentagon’s topline budget by $53.1 billion almost with the stroke of a pen.

The development of next generation combat UAVs along with the health of the Royal Air Force’s current fighter fleet will be key factors in determining how many F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters the United Kingdom buys in the coming years, a senior British defense official said today.

Industry officials are considering filing a protest with the GAO if the U.S. Air Force moves ahead with a rumored plan to purchase 90 choppers to replace its fleet of UH-1N Hueys on a sole source basis.