Senator: Expect Painful Cuts In Pentagon Budget

[Purveyor]

Source: Associated Press

(03-31) 09:47 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --

A Senate defense committee chairman says Pentagon budget will include large, painful cuts.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin said Tuesday that major program cuts will not be pushed off until the 2011 budget, but will be included when Defense Secretary Robert Gates sends his spending plan to the president later this month.

The Michigan Democrat's comments confirmed what many contractors and military leaders have expected...

MORE...

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/03/31/national/w094706D43.DTL

[tridim]

1. Bravo Carl! I've been waiting for someone to speak up about this issue.

[bluestateguy]

2. Boo fucking hoo

These Republicans want lower spending? You got it.

This is probably why it was good to keep Bob Gates: political cover.

[Kolesar]

6. Should give the refueling-tanker contract to Airbus so as to hobble the military-industrial-complex

Yes, I realize that the Airbus tanker had extensive production by Lockheed in the US.

You are so correct about Gates. I actually think that he wants to cut out all the bullshit.

[mopinko]

11. people take bad news a lot better from insiders than outsiders.

i always thought that was why gates was kept.

[Odin2005]

25. I agree completely.

Gates is Obama's foil against the propagandists for M-I Complex Pork.

[bemildred]

3. Painful for whom? nt

[dflprincess]

7. That's what I wondered

I fear this does not bode well for military families because I can't imagine Congress being willing to cause their defense contractor friends pain.

[Solly Mack]

27. That was my first thought

[bemildred]

28. Well, they gotta do something about the jobs.

But you can do that way the heck more useful and effective than the "defense bidness". Defense jobs cost 4-5 times more than equivalent non-defense jobs and produce useful goods and services too.

[livetohike]

4. It's about time n/t

[Rambis]

5. 15% off the top would be a good start

[cyberswede]

14. You read my mind!

Glad you posted this. :)

[defendandprotect]

8. Let's try taking it back to merely what they got for the Cold War . . . !!!!

[Warpy]

9. Finally--somebody with a lick of sense!

I look at the black hole represented by that five sided building and realize that's where my health care has gone for the past 22 years, how long I've been declared uninsurable by Big Insurance. I look at it and realize it's a big welfare office for men like the Koch brothers. I resent everything that goes to it that supports bases in 150 countries around the world to be hired muscle for the multinational corporations that made sure we all got cheated on wages for the past 35 years.

Now if Levin will only manage to redefine their mission as one of defense instead of economic hegemony, we might be on the road to getting our country back.

[barbtries]

10. i should hope so.

enough with the warmaking. let's wage peace, i bet it will be a hellalot cheaper.

[RaleighNCDUer]

13. Hell, just close down 650 of the 750 overseas facilites and that will

STILL leave the warmaking capacity intact, and we will STILL have more foreign bases than all other nations combined.

[mike_c]

12. good! cut it by 2/3 or more, please!

eom

[lark]

15. Whoohoo!!!

These days every small bit of good news is cause for celebration and this is hugely good news!!

:party: :party: :toast: :toast:

[EC]

16. The cuts aren't painful to me

they've been needed for a long time...Cut loose all those weapons programs that just don't work and never did...including "Star Wars".

[FailureToCommunicate]

17. "No pain no gain" Gotta cut A LOT more to get back to reality. (Hint: Cold War is over!)

Pentagon spending and other budget items:

http://www.brusselstribunal.org/Meyer/Afghanistan1008.htm

[rucky]

18. Let's see what they come up with.

Any cuts would be hugh, though. Just the fact it's even being discussed is a good sign.

[ddss75]

19. good place to start

they should just reform the oversight process. most of the weapons systems that they are holding off on have been studied for almost a decade, most of the time it is a lot of congressmen posturing in front of the camera so that they can make sure their districts get in on the action. it shouldnt take a decade to field a new weapon. the pentagon can also be restructured. the armed forces should serve one purpose, to wage war against our enemies. it should not be a jobs program like americorps. we dont need a return to the days of jimmy carter and clinton where they fucked the military to the point that the republicans that followed them raised the military spending budget even higher than it was. everything should be in balance.

[The Wizard]

20. All the dollars pissed down the Pentagon rat hole

couldn't stop 19 guys with box cutters. I rest my case.

[Mari333]

21. finally some GOOD news...nt

[harmonicon]

22. maybe Levin will do something good for once

.... possibly even cuts deep enough to make me feel like he's earned my vote the multiple times I've given it to him.

[mvd]

23. K&R

Use it to get affordable health care for all.

[Odin2005]

24. The Defense budget is so full of pork that we can cut tons of spending without harming...

our military strength. There is tons of stuff in there that is just corporate welfare for projects that will never be used in a actual war, anyway.

time to tighten the belt and quit dumping money down the rat-hole.

[Earth_First]

26. About.Fucking.Time. n/t

[mopinko]

29. strangely, i never sell this one-

people don't get it.