The “fewest ground troops since before World War 2” cuts are more style than substance, with the plan bringing troop levels less than 10 percent lower than they were already scheduled to be.
But just because it’s a practical non-issue doesn’t mean hawks aren’t trying to make hay out of the story, with Rep. Buck McKeon (R – CA) accusing the administration of “trying to solve our financial problems on the backs of our military” and setting the stage for a big Congressional showdown on the plan.
As far as that goes, the “cuts” don’t actually amount to less spending for the world’s most expensive military, and the plan is still for the Pentagon to dramatically exceed sequestration limits on spending.
That’s a fact neither side is eager to point out, with hawks looking to portray the cuts as calamitous to push for even bigger spending, and the supporters of the plan trying to portray the cuts as something real and meaningful, which they simply aren’t.