I don't think they will have to worry:
"Panetta has allies in Congress, especially Republicans on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, who are preparing legislation that would undo the automatic across-the-board cuts for military programs, or exchange them for cuts in other areas of the US budget"
Meaning deeper social service cuts, Americans.
"Army leaders warn against shrinking forces" October 11, 2011|By Thom Shanker, New York Times
WASHINGTON - The Army’s two top leaders argued yesterday against shrinking their service too much, warning that the nation may have to rethink its defense strategy if the ground forces become too small.
John M. McHugh, the Army secretary, echoed Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta’s concerns that it would be “catastrophic’’ if the Pentagon were ordered to find hundreds of billions of dollars in additional cuts....
General Ray Odierno, the new chief of staff, said similar arguments were made about the irrelevance of US ground forces before and were disproved by the attacks of Sept. 11....
How did the alleged terror incident by a few criminal radicals argue for ground forces all over the planet?
The Army is struggling against an emerging national security approach in which ground forces, which did the most and suffered the most in Afghanistan and Iraq, are viewed as less relevant today against risks on the horizon, whether an ascendant China, a nuclear North Korea, or a nuclear Iran....
You see where the war-makers are marching, 'eh? That's why they need the troops.
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"US military chiefs warn against steeper defense budget cuts; Fear reductions would limit power, global influence" November 03, 2011|By Robert Burns, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The nation’s military leaders warned a House panel yesterday that cuts in defense spending beyond those already planned would deeply wound the armed services and jeopardize US global influence....
This crap is making me sick when we spend more than the rest of the world combined on war.
General Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, said a decadelong pullback in US defense spending could lead potential adversaries to question the credibility of US military power and challenge US interests abroad.
The Department of Defense’s budget has nearly doubled to $700 billion in the 10 years since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Those numbers do not include the trillion-plus spent on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan....
All wasted money spent over lies.
Political wrangling has caused deep concern at the Pentagon, where there is worry that although troops are withdrawing from Iraq and the administration aims to wind down the war in Afghanistan, the cost of recovering from those conflicts and preparing for future crises will be higher than commonly understood.
IRAN!
Under Panetta, the Pentagon also has committed to maintaining - and possibly increasing - the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region, while also keeping a substantial presence in the Middle East....
Yeah, NO CUTS when it comes to EXPANDING the EMPIRE!!!
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I'll give you ONE GUESS what IS GETTING CUT!
"Panetta under pressure for deep cuts at Pentagon; New weapons, staff, benefits on the block" November 07, 2011|By Elisabeth Bumiller and Thom Shanker, New York Times
WASHINGTON - Under orders to cut the Pentagon budget by more than $450 billion over the next decade, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is considering reductions in spending categories once thought sacrosanct, especially in medical and retirement benefits, as well as further shrinking the number of troops and reducing new weapons purchases.
Yes, TAKE IT OUT of TROOPS' HEALTH CARE!!!
Panetta, a former White House budget chief, acknowledged in an interview that he faced deep political pressures as he considered cuts to Pentagon spending, which has doubled to $700 billion a year since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. He said meeting deficit-reduction targets might require another round of base closings, which could be highly contentious as members of Congress routinely fight to protect military deployments and jobs in their communities.
Among other steps, Panetta said, Pentagon strategists were looking at additional cuts in the nuclear arsenal, with an eye toward determining how many warheads the military needed to deter attacks.
Now THAT I AM ALL FOR; however, I DON'T SEE IT when Obama says we need to modernize.
Panetta also held out the possibility of cutting the number of US troops based in Europe, with the United States compensating for any withdrawal by helping NATO allies improve their militaries. That effort would free up money so the United States could maintain or increase its forces in Asia, a high priority for the Obama administration, and sustain a presence in the Persian Gulf after the withdrawal from Iraq this year, he said.
In a 40-minute interview Friday, Panetta offered the most detailed description yet of his plans to cut and reshape the military to fit a smaller budget - while still protecting national security interests and taking care of military personnel and their families.
It was clear in the interview that the defense secretary was addressing a variety of audiences: enlisted personnel, officers, and veterans, as well as members of Congress who approve Pentagon spending and an American public exhausted by a decade of war and now worried about the nation’s financial health....
Not only are we exhausted, WE HATE the F***ING THINGS!
Panetta has allies in Congress, especially Republicans on the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, who are preparing legislation that would undo the automatic across-the-board cuts for military programs, or exchange them for cuts in other areas of the US budget....
So ALL THIS PRINT and SPACE is a BIG PILE of BULLS***!!!
Panetta outlined a series of guiding principles for where to invest and where to cut. He pledged to maintain and even increase spending in areas that have redefined the American way of war in recent years. They include cyber offense and defense; unmanned aircraft, known as drones; and Special Operations forces - like those who killed Osama bin Laden and who also train foreign militaries to battle insurgencies.
I thought only bad guys did cyber offense, but you can see where this criminal, mass-murdering empire is headed.
Panetta cited North Korea and Iran as persistent threats, and said that the military had to maintain “the ability to deter and defeat them.’’ Still, he did not envision maintaining a ground force large enough to conduct a long, bloody war and then stability operations in North Korea or Iran, as the United States did in Afghanistan and Iraq....
After you guys start the WWIII against Iran you don't think you will be needing ground forces?
That can only mean USE of the U.S. NUCLEAR ARSENAL then!
In what he described as the most sensitive of the potential cuts, Panetta said the Pentagon was considering raising fees for the military’s health insurance program, Tricare. Today, military retirees and families, who are guaranteed Tricare for life, pay $460 a year in fees - far below what they would pay if they worked for a private employer - although a modest increase for new enrollees began last month.
Yeah, THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE as the WAR-PROFITEERS get RICH!
The White House and Pentagon have made clear that Tricare fee increases would affect only future enlistees and officers, not current active-duty personnel.
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"Panel finds widespread waste, corruption in foreign wars; Vast overhaul in contracts process recommended" September 01, 2011|By Richard Lardner, Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The United States has lost billions of dollars to waste and fraud in Iraq and Afghanistan and stands to repeat that in future wars without big changes in how the government awards and manages contracts for battlefield support and reconstruction projects, independent investigators said yesterday.
The Wartime Contracting Commission urged Congress and the Obama administration to put in place its recommendations to overhaul the contracting process and increase accountability....
“What you’re asking for is more of the same,’’ said Dov Zakheim, a commission member and the Pentagon comptroller during President George W. Bush’s first term. “More waste. More fraud. More abuse.’’
I'm surprised to see the name in print.
Related: Following Zakheim and Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11
What angering irony, 'eh?
The bipartisan commission, created by Congress in 2008, estimated that at least $31 billion and as much as $60 billion has been lost in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade due to lax oversight of contractors, poor planning, inadequate competition, and corruption. “I personally believe that the number is much, much closer to $60 billion,’’ Zakheim said.
And you will never get it back, America.
New legislation incorporating the changes could prove difficult with Republicans and Democrats divided over the best way to reduce the deficit.
Several proposals would require new spending, the commission acknowledged, and that would be a hard sell in an election year when reducing the size of government is a priority for many. Other proposals would cost little or simply require money to be shifted from one account, the panel said.
“If these recommendations are not implemented, there ought to be a Hall of Shame,’’ said Michael Thibault, cochairman of the commission. “There’s an opportunity at hand.’’
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And they might as well be part of the Pentagon these days.
"US poised to make cuts in foreign aid " by New York Times / October 4, 2011
WASHINGTON - America’s budget crisis is forcing the first significant cuts in overseas aid in nearly two decades, a retrenchment that officials and advocates say reflects the country’s diminishing ability to influence the world.
Aid to Israel is being increased.
As lawmakers scramble to trim the swelling national debt, both the Republican-controlled House and the Democrat-controlled Senate have proposed slashing financing for the State Department and its related aid agencies at a time of desperate humanitarian crises and uncertain political developments. The proposals have raised the specter of deep cuts in food and medicine for Africa, in relief for disaster-affected places like Pakistan and Japan, in political and economic assistance for the new democracies of the Middle East, and even for the Peace Corps.
The financial crunch threatens to undermine a foreign policy described as “smart power’’ by President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, one that emphasizes diplomacy and development as a complement to US military power.
Given the relatively small foreign aid budget - it accounts for 1 percent of federal spending overall - the effect of the cuts could be disproportional.
But if it were a welfare budget it's meaningful cuts.
The State Department already has scaled back plans to open more consulates in Iraq, for example.
Why do they need any with the biggest embassy ever constructed?
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Oh, I stand corrected: U.S. embassies are actually C.I.A stations.
