Center for American Progress

Defense Needs to Play Its Part in the Deficit Debate
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Defense Needs to Play Its Part in the Deficit Debate

Lawrence Korb explains how defense spending reductions can provide an effective defense at an acceptable cost and enhance our national security by bringing the budget under control.

In Congressional testimony over the past week, several high ranking military officers, led by Army General Martin Dempsey, the nominee to become the next Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, have warned about the dire national security consequences that could occur if the defense budget is cut by more than a token amount. Their comments have been reinforced by several Republican members of the House Armed Services Committee. But there are at least five reasons why the defense budget can and should be cut substantially without undo risk.

The above excerpt was originally published in The Huffington Post. Click here to view the full article.

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Authors

Lawrence J. Korb

Former Senior Fellow