Defense cuts test lawmakers' resolve on deficits

[No Elephants]

Source: Associated Press

Feb 6, 12:41 PM EST

Defense cuts test lawmakers' resolve on deficits

By DONNA CASSATA
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's call to shrink the military, shut bases and cancel weapons to meet the demand for budget cuts tests the resolve of lawmakers who came to Washington determined to slash the deficit.

A new national security strategy reflecting an end to decade-long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan offers the opportunity to reduce defense spending and government deficits by hundreds of billions of dollars over the next 10 years - but at a cost of thousands of jobs in lawmakers' states and districts.

Democrats as well as Republicans are resisting, looking to protect home turf from California, where the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft is built, to Wisconsin, home to speedy Littoral combat ships, to military installations all across the country.

"It's funny that we want to save money everywhere except when it can bother us," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said in an interview. Graham is a member of the Armed Services Committee and one of the few lawmakers who favors another round of domestic base closings.

Read more: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_DEFENSE_BUDGET_NEW_REALITY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-02-06-12-41-04

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*no elephants consults crystal ball* They may close bases, but the money will be spent some other way.

As indicated, that is pure speculation, but I just cannot believe that overall "defense" spending will be cut.

Maybe the $$ will be siphoned through the CIA, FBI and/or or Homeland Security. And there will always be private contractors making money hand over fist. But, somehow, they will spend it. JMO

[Lasher]

1. That's not speculation, it's an informed projection and I couldn't agree more.

For months now at least we have been blasted with this Pentagon propaganda campaign designed to convince us they are slashing defense spending to the bone when there will actually be only token cuts if any at all.

Once we've been convinced that this lip service equals actual and substantial military cutbacks, and once we believe the USSR and the Nazis and Imperial Japan will enslave us all if we cut one penny more from the Pentagon's budget, we'll happily condone dismantling of our domestic social programs. Who cares if grandma starves and our children die for lack of medical care if (insert bogyman du jour here) is going to kill us all anyway?