Washington: United States’ Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has expressed serious concerned over possible cuts in military spending under a compromise deal to avert a US debt default.
President Barack Obama on Tuesday signed into law the debt ceiling deal calls for at least $2.1 trillion in cuts in government spending over 10 years. In the first phase, $350 billion in military spending would be slashed.
A special congressional committee has been created to then agree on the second round of $1.5 trillion in further cuts from all areas. But if the bipartisan committee fails, then cuts of $1.2 trillion would automatically come into force, divided evenly between military and non-military spending, meaning the Pentagon could lose another $600 billion.
Panetta told a news conference that a “multitude of security challenges” had made him “particularly concerned about the sequester mechanism that was contained in the debt ceiling agreement.”
Defense spending, which has doubled since the September 11 attacks, accounts for 20 percent of the overall federal budget.
The top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, said that cuts in military spending could affect American defence system. He said the Taliban have been reorganizing in Afghanistan that could increase dangers for American forces in Afghanistan.
Mullen said that US soldiers deployed in different countries of the world require more fund to continue their operation. He said US soldiers stationed in Afghanistan are worried about their salaries.
Obama has requested $553 billion in defense spending for 2012, an increase of $5 billion. That does not take into account the $118 billion allocated for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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