Byron York: Defense spending can and should be cut -- in the right way

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

Republicans, and many Democrats, are upset by the prospect of so-called sequestration cuts to the nation's defense budget. Pentagon chief Leon Panetta is so alarmed that the day before the Senate took up what became the "fiscal cliff" agreement, he called a key Republican lawmaker, Sen. Lindsey Graham, to express deep concern that the cuts might go into effect. As it turned out, Congress put them off for two months.

Sequestration would force the government to reduce discretionary spending by about $1.2 trillion over the next decade. Roughly half of that, or $600 billion, would come from defense -- a hugely disproportionate amount to take from the Pentagon. And the cuts would be the worst possible sort: everything slashed, across the board, good programs and bad.

That's no accident. Sequestration was designed to be so awful that Congress would find a better way to cut spending. So far, that hasn't happened.

[Draggingtree]

Pentagon Prepping to Cut Training, Furlough Workers, Slash Maintenance

 

By: Hope Hodge

1/10/2013 04:49 PM

 

Head shaking in disbelief, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta enumerated the changes that may take place at the Pentagon goes into advanced planning mode for sequestration.

 

In a Thursday afternoon press conference with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, Panetta was dour and his language grim.

 

With a six-month fiscal year remaining to implement the first year of sequestration cuts if Congress does not avoid them, and increasing speculation that Congress can’t and won’t, Pentagon planners can no longer afford to ignore the prospect of sequestration as absurd.

 

http://www.humanevents.com/2013/01/10/pentagon-prepping-to-cut-training-furlough-workers-slash-maintenance/