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On his recent trip abroad, Mitt Romney observed an American taboo by not criticizing President Obama's military policy. But before his trip, he made his position clear. Obama has "exposed the military to cuts that no one can justify," Romney said. He meant that unless Congress intervenes, Pentagon spending will be cut by more than $500 billion over 10 years under the (bipartisan) budget sequestration scheduled for January. This terrifies those who fear that limiting the growth of the military-industrial complex will leave us less safe. But is that true? Even if $500 billion is actually cut, America still will...

It turns out that "budget sequestration," portrayed as an evenhanded way to spur bipartisan negotiations over budget deficits, is actually a dagger aimed at defense spending. So: the sequestration now scheduled for next January means about another $500 billion in military cuts over the decade. These are in addition to the $487 billion in defense reductions already in the BCA and billions of earlier cuts ordered by former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who ended some major programs including the F-22 stealth fighter. Nor do these cuts count the automatic reductions occurring from withdrawals from Iraq and Afghanistan. Even without sequester,...

The U.S. armed forces have spent the past decade fighting two of the largest counterinsurgency campaigns in their history. In Iraq, they have dramatically reduced the threat from al-Qaeda and Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdist Army, and they are now in the process of doing the same to the Taliban and the Haqqani Network in Afghanistan and Pakistan. --snip-- In all, the defense budget could shrink by 31 percent over the next decade, according to Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. That compares with cuts of 53 percent after the Korean War, 26 percent after the Vietnam War,...

Supercommittee member Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) accused Democrats on Monday of torpedoing the deficit supercommittee because a success would have “stepped on” President Obama’s campaign narrative. Speaking Monday on CNBC’s Squawk Box, Toomey said there’s “something to” suggestions that Democrats had an incentive to see the supercommittee fail. “That goes to the asymmetry of the incentives and I think there was something to that,” Toomey said. “The president’s fundamental campaign message was to run against Congress - never mind the fact that half of Congress is controlled by the Democrats, but that’s his purpose, and certainly an agreement in this...

With the Washington Post reporting – and Senator Jon Kyl confirming – that there’s a general sense of malaise surrounding budget deal negotiations, the end may be in sight. Unfortunately, the light at the end of the tunnel is looking more and more like it’s the headlight of an oncoming train. The congressional committee tasked with reducing the federal deficit is poised to admit defeat as soon as Monday, and its unfinished business will set up a year-end battle over emergency jobless benefits and an expiring payroll tax holiday. Those provisions are among a host of measures set to lapse...

JUPITER, Fla. — Not one of the old "frogmen" or young Navy SEALs who gathered this week at the nearby National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum for the annual Muster wants to see another war. Those who came here are veterans of combat spanning from World War II to the present wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to numerous other unnamed fights around the world. Within their ranks are men — and their families — who know what it means to go in harm's way, often without any recognition or public acclaim. The widow of a slain SEAL put it this way:...

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...

The House's pro-Defense hard-liners Saturday stepped into the debt-ceiling drama, opposing the Pentagon spending levels proposed in debt plans put out by both Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) targeted Reid's debt plan. That plan, which the House rejected Saturday, contains large but vague Defense cuts. Reid's bill would cap annual spending by the Pentagon and other agencies over the next two years at $1.2 trillion, while also assuming $1 trillion in savings as the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts wind down. Reid's plan "would give the president...

Right Turn has obtained a memo from House Armed Services Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) to Republican committee members analyzing the defense cuts in the Reid plan Based on our analysis the [Reid] proposal would result in $868 Billion in defense cuts over 10 years when weighed against the FY11 budget request. Immediately the plan would cut defense in real terms below the FY11-enacted level of $553 billion and hold defense below the FY11-enacted level through FY13. It represents a $16 billion cut to our FY12 levels for next year and a $26 billion cut for the following year. Let me...

Politicians often rail against government spending, except when it goes to the military. Conservatives believe there is no such thing as too much defense spending, and liberals don't argue, for fear of being labeled appeasers. So when there is talk of the two parties agreeing to cut the Pentagon budget, it sounds like a monumental change. But probably not. It's a good thing that defense, which accounts for roughly a fifth of all federal outlays, is no longer considered immune to the need for frugality. But both supporters and opponents have a stake in portraying any trims as far more...

Even before the 112th Congress has been sworn in, the five dozen plus wave of new conservatives, who will fill its ranks, is having an affect on our tax structure. Whether the deal to save the Bush tax rates survives an up or down vote in the Lame Duck session or not, we are certainly headed toward a day of reckoning for Congressional taxing and spending. One of the ideas for reducing federal spending is cutting the Defense budget. In August Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced his intension to eliminate Joint Forces Command, a major combat command based in Virginia....

Virginia officials reacted with bipartisan dismay on Monday to Defense Department budget shifts that will cost the state thousands of jobs in coming years and will dramatically impact the economies of the Norfolk area and Northern Virginia. Most of the immediate reaction revolved around Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates's proposal to close the U.S. Joint Forces Command. It is a major employer in Hampton Roads, including Norfolk and Virginia Beach, whose elimination could translate into the loss of 6,100 military, civilian and contractor jobs in the region. But a proposal to slash the Pentagon's budget for military contractors over the...

“There is a rank due to the United States, among nations, which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness.” ~ George Washington It is official. Deputy Secretary of Defense William Lynn says we cannot afford guns and butter. So what happens? Do we fund the weapons or the troops who use them? One thing is certain: no one is going to be happy. Last week Lynn confirmed what Secretary of Defense Robert Gates said during a speech at the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kansas: Major cuts are coming. No doubt the library venue was selected...

It seems Barack Obama has a new presidential role model, at least as far as national de fense is concerned: Dwight Eisenhower. But the Ike that Obama likes isn't the easy-going golfing geezer -- and certainly not the grim Cold Warrior who promised massive nuclear retaliation on the enemy if they started any serious trouble. No, this is the Ike who slashed America's defense budget by more than a quarter after the Korean War, and who, according to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, was willing to "make hard choices" about where American military might should be used, and where it shouldn't....

President Barack Obama – who came to power with the help of government employee unions across the nation – and has lavished on them hundreds of billions in stimulus funds to keep them on federal, state and local payrolls with no strings attached – is moving to cut spending on salaries for military personnel. This weekend the Washington Post headlined story, "Pentagon Asking Congress to Hold Back on Generous Increases in Troop Pay,”, disclosed that the Obama administration is “pleading” with Congress to give military personnel a much smaller increase in pay than proposed by lawmakers. The Pentagon is arguing...

Volcker: Taxes likely to rise eventually to tame deficit NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States should consider raising taxes to help bring deficits under control and may need to consider a European-style value-added tax, White House adviser Paul Volcker said on Tuesday.

Cuts to the F-22 Raptor fighter jet program could endanger pilots of other U.S. military jets, U.S. Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon said Thursday. Asked about Defense Secretary Robert Gates' recommended cut in the number of F-22s to be built, McKeon said the reductions would kill area jobs and deprive the country of stealthy jets that, in some cases, are the only ones that could accomplish a mission and come back safe. ... The Air Force had requested Lockheed Martin and Boeing, which jointly build the F-22, to produce 60 more of the aircraft but was hoping for a minimum...

President Obama's cuts in defense spending is just wrong on so many levels. When you are fighting a war on two fronts and facing two rogue regimes intent on building nuclear weapon, his defense cuts are putting all of our lives in danger. This is an affront to common sense. After using the Stimulus and subsequent Omnibus bills to reward his buddies and those of Nanci Pelosi's crew, the President is going to take from the money being used to protect our families. Instead of cutting defense, why not take the money the Democrats are using to reward ACORN. You...

Prague - The anti-missile shield project would be unnecessary if Iran gave up its military nuclear programme, U.S. President Barack Obama said in his address in Prague today. "If the Iranian threat is eliminated, we will have a stronger basis for security and the driving force for missile defence construction in Europe will be removed," Obama said. However, he pointed out that Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile activity poses a real threat not just to the United States but to Iran's neighbours and to U.S. allies. "The Czech Republic and Poland have been courageous in agreeing to host a defence...

The MSM refused to listen . . . their own narrative was more important than a strong America and a free society . . . we tried warning you . . . the Obama Truth Squads, massive voter fraud . . . phony birth certificates . . . broken promises on every important issue . . . FISA . . . now the Obama Brown shirts are listening in on your conversations . . . he kept his promise and ACORN helped set the country’s agenda in his first 180 days in office . . . he promised a compromised...