Adm. James Winnefeld, vice chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the DoD's 2013 budget plan did not proportionately cut the U.S. military services as it has in the past. (James J. Lee / Staff)
Pentagon Punts On Major Program Cuts -- Defense News
Platforms Face New Threats After Elections.
The U.S. Defense Department’s fiscal 2013 budget plan to cut $259 billion from spending over the next five years is unlikely to damage America’s defense industrial base largely because it sidesteps major program cuts in a presidential election year, according to analysts.
Part of the justification for leaving the larger programs in place, analysts said, is the potential to use them as bargaining chips during upcoming negotiations over sequestration, the $500 billion in automatic budget cuts that would take effect in January 2013 absent agreement to a broader debt deal between Congress and the Obama administration.
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My Comment: In my readings and analysis of reactions to the proposed U.S. Defense budget cuts .... I cannot help but feel that many Generals and defense officials are hoping that President Obama is defeated in November, and that a new President will not follow through on budget cuts and force reductions. It seems that everyone is on hold, waiting for the results of the 2012 President (and Congressional) elections to decide on what to do next.
Hmmmm .... my prediction .... these cuts are going to happen regardless of who is in the White House.