Ex-Generals Make The Case For Deep U.S. Defense Cuts

Generals: Get Real And Cut Pentagon Spending -- Robert G. Gard and John Johns, Special To CNN

(CNN) -- A strong U.S. military is indispensable to our national security. As retired military officers, we have dedicated our careers, on active duty and retired, to that end. We have been involved in crafting and teaching national security strategy, of which military strategy and use of military force are vital components.

In the debate over the Pentagon budget and with threats of deeper cuts coming, the president, Congress, governors and the entire defense community are rightly concerned about sequestration, which cuts both domestic and defense spending indiscriminately. It is agreed that overall spending reductions are necessary, but the "fiscal cliff" crisis reflects a lack of political will, not rational planning.

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My Comment: I can understand the argument that the defense budget must be cut to help bring America's fiscal mess into some form of order. But realistically .... when you look at deficit numbers like this one .... even if the defense budget is cut to ZERO!!! .... America/s fiscal mess will still be there.

Sequestration’s Defense Cuts Becoming More Real With Each Passing Day

Sequestration’s Defense Cuts Loom -- Max Boot, Commentary

The newspapers are full of articles about negotiations over tax hikes and spending cuts as Congress and the White House face the impending “fiscal cliff.” There is much less said about another consequence of our mindless budgeting: the very real possibility that our armed forces will face devastating cuts on January 2. That is less than a month away but, given how little attention sequestration is receiving, it feels as if we’re sleepwalking toward disaster.

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My Comment: In all of my years of following US politics and news .... I have never seen anything like this. The whole world is watching the Commander in Chief of a superpower play politics with his defense budget .... an astoundingly wrong impression to give to a world filled with many bad actors on the scene. But such is the state of politics in the U.S. today .... and as I always tell my friends around the world who want to know what is my take on what is happening .... elections have consequences, and the American public have decided that their entitlement programs and uncontrollable spending is far more important than defense budgets and having rich entrepreneurs .... and we better get use to it.

On a side note .... and this is what makes me realize how destructive Washington has been .... even if sequestration does kick in .... the U.S. deficit will still continue to climb by about $1 trillion a year. And if interest rates climb .... as they will .... this debt load will accelerate even quicker.

Update: "Fiscal cliff" talks frozen, Obama lobbies big business -- CBS

The Case For Shrinking The US Defense Budget

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta congratulates Robert M. Gates, who served as the 22nd defense secretary, at the unveiling of Gates' portrait at the Pentagon, Oct. 29, 2012. DOD photo by U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chad J. McNeeley

Honey, I Shrunk the Pentagon -- Bill Keller, New York Times

LET’S imagine you are the new secretary of defense, and, wow, has Secretary Panetta left you a full docket. You have to extract more than 60,000 troops from Afghanistan without leaving behind a Mad Max dystopia. You have to carry on shadow wars against homicidal extremists, refine contingency plans for Syria and Iran, keep an eye on China’s pushiness and Pakistan’s fragility, all without being too distracted by the frat-house antics of hormonal generals.

It’s easy to overlook in all that excitement, but your best opportunity to make a major contribution to the security of your country is none of the above. It is the unglamorous, unpopular, unfinished business of right-sizing our defense budget, without putting us at grave risk. What’s that you say? You’d rather go back to reading General Petraeus’s flirty e-mails? I sympathize. Imagine trying to get people to read a column about the budget.

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My Comment: I concur .... the most important task for the next U.S. Secretary of Defense will be to cut the US military without impacting it's capabilities. My prediction .... in today's political environment I do not expect him to succeed.

What's Next For The U.S. Military

President Barack Obama delivers remarks to troops at Fort Campbell, Ky., May 6, 2011. Vice President Joe Biden stands at left. Army.mil

What Obama's Re-Election Means For The Military, Veterans -- Leo Shane III, Stars and Stripes

WASHINGTON – Even though Barack Obama has served as commander in chief for the last four years, his re-election Tuesday will mean significant changes for the military in coming months, especially in terms of defense spending.

Where his challenger in the presidential campaign promised big increases in military budgets in coming years, Obama has planned almost $500 billion in spending reductions for the military over the next decade, calling it a responsible post-war plan. Republicans in Congress fiercely oppose the effort, but the president’s re-election blunts their hopes of increasing or even holding steady defense spending.

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My Comment: My prediction .... the slated $500 billion in cuts over 10 years will go through, as well as the sequestration cuts of another $500 billion. And as Leo Shane accurately quotes ....

.... Obama has said he won’t let the military be decimated by sequestration, but also won’t sacrifice other domestic programs to save the services.


Translated .... domestic programs are the priority, and to save them he will cut even more of the military .... which I predict he will. In the end .... after 10 years .... the U.S. will have a military that will probably be far smaller than what it is today, operating on a budget that will be $100 billion+ less per year than what it is today (and that is assuming that inflation will be near zero .... which I strongly doubt will be the case when one considers the amount of money that the FED is printing today)..

How Much Military Can You Buy For $720 Billion A Year?

GOP nominee Mitt Romney at the Virginia Military Institute October 8, 2012. (Shannon Stapleton/Courtesy Reuters)

The 4 Percent Solution: How Much Military Can You Buy For $720 Billion A Year? -- James Carafano, Foreign Policy

Even though the first U.S. presidential debate was not about national security, the military made a brief but striking appearance, with candidate Mitt Romney lamenting what he charged were President Barack Obama's "dramatic cuts to our military." He said: "I do not believe in cutting our military. I believe in maintaining the strength of America's military." Obama, for his part, countered that Romney wanted "$2 trillion in additional military spending that the military hasn't asked for."

The stark contrast raises the question: Is the United States investing adequately for its future defense?

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My Comment: As the politicians debate and argue on what to spend (or not spend) when it comes to the U.S. Military, the Pentagon is living in the real world of what they are about to face.