Panetta Warns on Across-the-Board Pentagon Cuts

Wall Street Journal ^ | Aug. 3, 2011 | Nathan Hodge

[La Enchiladita]

The day after the passage of the debt-reduction deal, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta sent a message to the Pentagon’s rank-and-file–and to Congress. Failure to enact further deficit-reduction measures, he said, might trigger “dangerous, across-the-board” cuts to defense.

The first stage of budget cuts under the “Budget Control Act of 2011” calls for $350 billion in cuts to defense spending over 10 years. But if lawmakers fail to find an additional $1.5 trillion in deficit savings, the law calls for a process called “sequestration” that would result in automatic cuts of $1.2 trillion–half of which would fall on the Pentagon budget by 2013.

...Defense budget analyst Jim McAleese said some cuts would likely be included in pending defense-spending legislation for fiscal 2012, which begins Oct. 1.

“People don’t realize how fast this is going to happen,” Mr. McAleese said.

[LeoWindhorse]

Cut Congress’s pay , and the pay for all the ‘staffers’ and ‘interns’ in D.C. and the surrounding bureaucratic megalopolis , NOT the pay of our Troops or the nation defense budget .

WE ARE AT WAR ( lest some forget )

[pepsionice]

You basically start with North Korea...sign a peace treaty, and vacate South Korea within three years. You turn around to Japan, and let them know that you are vacating their country. Same deal with all of NATO. You bring all the troops back to US shores...base them around the fifty states, and save around thirty percent of the entire budget you have today. You can even take the troops and base them along the border of Mexico...and cut loose half of the border patrol guys.

[Sir Napsalot]

I can just imagine the salivating from the communist (strike that) commie sympathizer for the chance to wreck havoc at our military ......

[ex-snook]

Not across the board. Keep dollars that defend this country. Cut world policeman funds for defending other countries. I know this would disrupt someone’s gravy train but American grandmas would approve.

[dfwgator]

Getting out of that Libyan cluster f#@$ would be a good start.

[Drill Thrawl]

I can just imagine the salivating from the communist (strike that) commie sympathizer for the chance to wreck havoc at our military ......

You can damn well rest assured that the DODs budget for diversity and sensitivity training will increase. To paraphrase an old lib saying, "War is bad for muslims, homosexuals and other living things"

[Recovering_Democrat]

Maybe Leon ought to talk to the idiots like Nancy Pelosi, and tell his fellow communists in the federal government that cutting defense is a mistake, and to find cuts in domestic programs instead...with no tax increases!

Don't try to scaremonger us, you jerk. We know the danger we're facing--and YOUR PARTY is near the top of the list. Terrorist enabling panty waists.

[grobdriver]

if lawmakers fail to find an additional $1.5 trillion

Finding it isn't the problem.
It's getting the democrats to agree to the (real) cut, is the problem.

[grobdriver]

Hey, Leon - here's a cut for you!

Disgraced Still-Congressman Wu Can Draw Nearly $900,000 In Pension Benefits

[Gritty]

To late, Leon. Our effete, stupid "leaders" already agreed to this abomination. They put our heads on the chopping block along with yours.

Suck it up and die like a man - like the rest of us are going to have to do soon...

[elpadre]

If the Pentagon would rid themselves of all their civilian employees with Yale and Harvard degrees, plus their many contracted consultants from the same schools, they would cut expenses tremendously and become a much more efficient operation. And that's a fact!!

[TLI]

How about some "across the board" EPA cuts?

Perhaps some "across the board" TSA cuts?

"Across the board" EEOC cuts?

"Across the board" BATFEces cuts?

"Across the board" Department of Agriculture cuts?

Department of Education?

Department of Health and Human Services?

Department of Housing and Urban Development?

Department of Labor?

African Development Foundation?

Federal Reserve System?

National Railroad Passenger Corporation?

Yea, we never hear about any "across the board cuts" in any of the agencies representing the Parasitic Branch of the Fed-gov.

Same old tattered commie-dem playbook crap. "We will be forced to cut police and firefighters!"

Failure to enact further deficit-reduction measures, he said, might trigger “dangerous, across-the-board” cuts to defense.

They know damn well they can screw the military because the military doesn't vote for communists.

.

[cherry]

"passage of the debt-reduction deal"

there is no debt reduction....another SCM talking points making it seem like we're all frugal now......BS!

[SECURE AMERICA]

I attended a funeral for a soldier KILLED in the WAR in Afghanistan yesterday.
It is a shame that our Government does not remember we are at WAR!
What a bunch of assclowns............

[JudgemAll]

Yep, the same liberal congress attacking Bush for not providing uparmored HMMVs and MRAPS is now slashing the very funds that protect the lives of soldiers.

[La Enchiladita]

Good for you for remembering. They savaged Bush on the tanks and the body armor, Kerry especially!!

[FlyVet]

It's the same crapola that city councils all over the country. Police, Fire, Teachers. You won't be safe, your kids won't be educated.

In my city and county combined, we have over 300 bureaucrats making over $100,000/year, with quite a few of them over $200,000. In 2010, there was a suggestion that city workers take a 3% pay cut due to the budget problems, but the city council nixed that. One hand washes the other.

[montanajoe]

Putting mandatory across the board cuts to the Defense budget in the so called “compromise” surpasses the stupidity of failing to consider the debt ceiling on its own.

This idea is going to come back to hurt Defense big time...

[JudgemAll]

We have to thank the traitor RINOs to now stand as traitors of our soldiers, not providing them the needed gear of protection they need. THey did not compromise, THIS WAS ELECTION CONCESSION.

THEY CONCEDED and are just there to get their pay and concede all the rest to Democrates.

Zero is the hero to all of them. It’s all becoming a big joke of wannabes who pretend they are on this or that issue when in fact there is absolutely zero content in these people but taking money and tyranny.

Watch the unions now doing swat team jobs on the rest of America.