Pentagon budget to be cut by $100 billion in five years

Secretary of Defence, Chuck Hagel, announced a Pentagon budget reduction of 100 billion dollars in five years, amounting to 20% of the current budget, which comes on top of the cuts already made this year.

As an example, the Secretary of Defence announced that he would start with his own staff and dismiss 200 from a team of 2,400.

The staff cuts should primarily affect the civilian workforce in his department. The program cuts should target contracts with private companies: Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, and curtail purchases of new materials.

These budget cuts are selected depending on the opportunity and not on the basis of a precise assessment of essential national security needs. They will increase the inconsistency and inefficiency of the US army, still capable of undertaking spectacular commando actions, but no longer in a position to take on largescale operations.