Deficit Commission’s Proposal: $100 Billion Military Cut

Cut Would Be Over Five Years, Targeting Weapons Programs

The interim proposal for the US deficit commission is said to seek a $100 billion cut in planned military spending over the next five years, with cuts centered around weapons programs but also focusing on health care costs and overseas bases.

Though such a cut would be enormous for any other military on the planet, it is actually comparatively paltry for the impossibly large US defense budget, and indeed will likely only be a fraction of the size the military’s budget will grow over that period.

And even this assumes that the cuts pass at all, as they will undoubtedly be controversial as President Obama and a number of top Republican Congressmen are trying to out-hawk one another, and talks seem to be centering around next year’s military budget exceeding three quarters of a trillion dollars.

But the cuts shy away from the massive military expenditures of America’s overseas adventures and the enormous nuclear weapons arsenal, and even $100 billion over five years would have little impact on America’s budget deficit. With a number of incoming Tea Party Congressmen centering their campaigns around a balanced budget it seems these minor cuts, difficult though they may be to get passed, will need to be increased dramatically if they are to have lasting impact on the budget.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.