Hagel: Budget cuts could harm nation's defense

[The Straight Story]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel warned Wednesday that the Pentagon may have to mothball up to three Navy aircraft carriers and order additional sharp reductions in the size of the Army and Marine Corps if Congress doesn't act to avoid massive budget cuts beginning in 2014.

Speaking to Pentagon reporters, and indirectly to Congress, Hagel said that the full result of the sweeping budget cuts over the next 10 years could leave the nation with an ill-prepared, under-equipped military doomed to face more technologically advanced enemies.

In his starkest terms to date, Hagel laid out a worst-case scenario for the U.S. military if the Pentagon is forced to slash more than $50 billion from the 2014 budget and $500 billion over the next 10 years as a result of Congressionally-mandated automatic spending cuts.

The Pentagon has been ratcheting up a persistent drumbeat about the dire effects of the budget cuts on national defense, and as Congress continues to wrangle over spending bills on Capitol Hill.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/pentagon-bears-brunt-upcoming-budget-cuts

[Rex]

1. NP dude! How many people you want to kick out of their homes

and how many families should we put on welfare? Just let me know and we will send you a blank check!

[Gregorian]

2. Oh no, we might only have 9 times the next biggest military in the world! Waaaaah.

Note to Hagel, wars are fought with digits now.

[LittleBlue]

3. We should keep throwing away trillions on military welfare

while people are struggling to find jobs that pay a living wage and affordable healthcare.

Totally immoral country.

[quinnox]

4. it should be cut in half for starters

and then gradually reduced from there, every year. Hagel should know better than this, disappointing.