For all the talk about whether U.S. ‘defense cuts’ are insufficient or cataclysmic, almost all can agree finally the U.S. military enters the post 9/11 world. Overdue, but a good thing.
The political car wreck known as the August 2011 Budget Control Act mandated $487 billion in cuts mostly by reducing out year proposed DoD budget increases. DoD complied with a proposed budget that cut increases to avoid sequestration. Panetta’s Hill testimony argues for keeping things pretty much status quo. There are some losers and winners – especially C4ISR capability.
Panetta and DoD’s notional cuts are made possible by ‘cost savings’ via the hoary procurement stretch-out gambit, improved ‘processes’ and less spent on people. He even called on Congress to cut Medicare and raise taxes before touching defense.
He didn’t have a choice adopting this aggressive stance. As new SecDef he has only a CIA tour behind him. His first job is to secure the loyalty of the building and services. And he’s carrying their water well. His grip is still formative; the defense sector is in a panic. He knows what happened to Les Aspin. Or Rummy before 9/11. He won’t make their mistakes.