Rumsfeld Untracks 'Crusader'

Weapon's End Faces Hill GOP Challenge

Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld announced Wednesday that he is canceling the Army's Crusader artillery system. (AP Photo)

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld announced yesterday he intends to cancel the Army's $11 billion Crusader artillery program so that money could be invested in more futuristic weapons technologies, setting himself on a collision course with Congress over the mobile, rapid-fire howitzer.

Rumsfeld confidently predicted victory on Capitol Hill in what is the most important test to date of his ability to clear the defense budget of what he sees as Cold War relics and to "transform" the nation's fighting capabilities in a new environment where terrorism and other threats have replaced more traditional military foes.

While Crusader is the first major weapons system Rumsfeld has canceled, numerous others -- including the Air Force's F-22 fighter, the Marines' V-22 tilt-rotor Osprey and the Army's Comanche helicopter -- have been targeted for review and possible reduction or elimination.

"This decision is not about any one weapon system, but really about a strategy of warfare," Rumsfeld said. "We're going to cancel the Crusader. We're going to make our case persuasively with the Congress. We must be prepared to adapt to an ever-evolving set of challenges and circumstances."

But battle lines were quickly drawn by leading Republicans in the House and Senate. Rep. J.C. Watts, chairman of the House Republican Conference and a strong proponent of the Crusader, which would be manufactured in his home state of Oklahoma, immediately issued a statement predicting that Rumsfeld's "unilateral and misguided decision regarding Crusader will be resisted by Congress, regardless of the latest fad within the Department of Defense."

Sen. Don Nickles (R-Okla.), the assistant minority leader, also expressed his strong support for Crusader. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.) and the panel's ranking Republican, Sen. John W. Warner (Va.), summoned Rumsfeld for testimony next week, citing his "sudden change" of position on the artillery system.

The senators also invited Gen. Eric K. Shinseki, the Army chief of staff and a vocal Crusader proponent, to testify.

Army officials have long argued that the Crusader, in development since 1994, would provide more than double the firepower of the Army's 40-year-old Paladin howitzer with far more precision. But advocates of military transformation remained deeply skeptical about the wisdom of investing $11 billion on an artillery system that was conceived in an era in which the military was organized around the premise of fighting a major ground war in Europe.

Whatever the outcome in Congress, Rumsfeld's announcement brought an end to rampant speculation about the future of Army Secretary Thomas E. White, the highest-ranking former Enron Corp. executive in the Bush administration.

Already under investigation by various federal agencies for issues related to Enron as well as his use of Army aircraft for private business, White -- who has staunchly backed Crusader -- found himself engulfed in further controversy a week ago when Rumsfeld's aides first told Congress that the Pentagon planned to kill Crusader.

An Army lobbyist handed out "talking points" to Crusader proponents on Capitol Hill that said Rumsfeld was out for a "quick kill" and concluded that the weapon system's cancellation would ultimately cost the lives of U.S. soldiers.

With Rumsfeld expressing indignation over the document, White ordered the Army's inspector general to investigate who wrote and distributed it. The inspector general's report, apparently identifying a civilian appointee in the Army's legislative office, was completed yesterday and forwarded to Rumsfeld's office, but not released.

But by the time Rumsfeld briefed reporters yesterday, White's position on the Rumsfeld team seemed secure, at least for the moment. Rumsfeld expressed full confidence in him, and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz, who followed Rumsfeld to the lectern in the Pentagon press briefing room to further explain Crusader's cancellation, called White "an outstanding secretary of the Army, perhaps the best we've ever had."

White, joining Wolfowitz, told reporters that he and other Army officials had continued to back Crusader until they were formally notified yesterday of Rumsfeld's decision to kill the system.

"Now the decision has been made," he said, "and the Army is moving out to execute that decision."

The Crusader has been a symbol of Cold War-era weapon systems surviving at the Pentagon for political reasons. The weapon is being developed by United Defense Industries Inc., a defense contractor controlled by Carlyle Group Inc., an investment firm led by Frank C. Carlucci, a defense secretary under President Ronald Reagan. The firm's advisers include former president George H.W. Bush and former secretary of state James A. Baker III.

The Army wanted to buy 480 Crusaders, the first of which would go into service in 2008.

Wolfowitz and White said they would explore the possibility of accelerating development of at least four new weapons systems, including the Excalibur precision-guided artillery shell, with the $475 million in funding set aside in next year's budget for Crusader.

"So far, Rumsfeld has not made his case as to why killing the best artillery piece that was ever developed was necessary," said Loren B. Thompson, a defense analyst at the Lexington Institute with ties to the Pentagon and leading defense contractors. "The case probably exists, but most people haven't heard it. This is really not a decision to cancel Crusader and buy something better. They don't know what something better is."