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August 10, 2010

Gates Outlines Pentagon Budget Cuts
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In military news, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has outlined a plan to
reduce slightly the Pentagon’s record half-trillion-dollar annual
budget. Gates is proposing to reduce spending on private contractors, to
close the Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia, and eliminate fifty
generals and admirals and 150 top civilian posts over two years. The
closure of the Joint Forces Command would result in thousands of job
losses. Gates did not say how much money the budget cuts will save, but
it will be only a small fraction of the Pentagon’s overall budget, which
has doubled since 2001. Even with the proposed cuts, the Pentagon’s
budget is expected to rise again next year by just under two percent to
$549 billion—not including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.



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