Panetta: Spending Cuts Would Be ‘Disastrous’ to National Defense

Insists Pentagon 'Diligent' in Keeping Costs Down

Speaking today on ABC’s “This Week,” Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta warned against allowing any military related spending cuts next say, saying that any cuts would be “disastrous to national security.”

They have a responsibility to come together and find the money,” Panetta added, calling for Congress to accept the military’s existing budgets as-is for a “strong national defense.”

Panetta has repeatedly insisted that the theoretical cuts, which are mostly back-loaded at any rate, would be a calamity. Today he added that the Pentagon, which has the largest military budget of any military in the history of humanity, has been “diligent” in keeping the costs down.

House Republicans have been pushing to exempt the Pentagon from the “automatic” cuts that might be imposed in an attempt to balance the budget. The Senate has so far resisted the effort.

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.