Here Comes The U.S. Defense Budget Battles (Maybe?)

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, brief the Pentagon press, Oct. 25, 2012. DOD photo by Glenn Fawcett

Fiscal Cliff Notes -- Gordon Adams, Foreign Policy

The only things you need to know about the coming budget fight.

With the November 6 election, the shadow play over the defense budget and the fiscal cliff has come to an end. For the past 15 months, we have been entertained by a drama scripted in the Budget Control Act that appears to threaten a fiscal cliff for discretionary spending in January 2013. Defense has played one of the lead roles.

President Obama has argued that if Congress wants to eliminate the threat of automatic spending cuts, Republicans need only put revenues on the table. In an election year? Unlikely. And, soon after agreeing to the fiscal cliff, the stalwart "defenders of defense" in the GOP came down with a sudden case of buyer's remorse, arguing that national security would be threatened unless defense were somehow exempted from the planned cuts.

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My Comment: There are going to be no fights over the defense budget. The Republicans have been shellacked in this election cycle, and the Pentagon will accommodate what the White House wants .... which will be drastic cuts in the defense budget. My prediction .... expect even more cuts after sequestration has kicked in.