defense cuts

Britain’s military should be growing. It’s not.

President Obama addressed the mission to degrade and destroy the Islamic State in remarks today at the Pentagon. "Our strikes continue alongside our partners. It remains a difficult mission," said the commander in chief.

The WEEKLY STANDARD podcast, with editor William Kristol on President Obama's defense cuts.

The Washington Post editorial board criticizes the Obama administration's dereliction of duty on defense spending:

The New York Times reported Monday that congressional Republicans were split on the coming defense budget sequestration, with many in the GOP suggesting the cuts ought to go through because "fiscal questions trump defense" Now, more than 70 foreign policy experts, including prominent Republicans…

The planned cuts to the defense budget as a result of the sequestration could mean reductions in benefits fo active members of the military and their families. Adam Kredo reports:

In Virginia, Republican George Allen and Democrat Tim Kaine are in a tight Senate battle. The Real Clear Politics average shows Kaine with a one-point lead. Allen has a new 30-second TV ad in which he makes the pitch on taxes and defense spending directly.

As Tim Kaine opens up a small lead in the race for the open Senate seat in Virginia, both the former Democratic governor and his Republican opponent, former governor and senator George Allen, face off in their second debate Monday night in Richmond. Both candidates' latest TV advertisements may…

Fairfax, Va.

White House press secretary Jay Carney said he was unaware about defense cuts that will close an Air Force base in Ohio--where President Obama will be landing tomorrow aboard Air Force One. Here's the video, from the White House press briefing:

Republican Senate candidate George Allen has a new TV ad telling Virginia voters that the cuts coming to the Defense Department as a result of the budget sequestration will be "devastating" to the Old Dominion and its economy. Watch the ad below:

Fox News: "Panetta Warns of Smallest Air Force Ever if Deep Defense Cuts Made"

Among the many shortcomings of the Budget Control Act and its spawn, the “Super Committee,” is that the threat of a sequestration “nuclear option”—in which some $600 billion would be cut automatically from national security accounts if congressmen do not find savings elsewhere—diverts attention…

New York Times: "C.I.A. Demands Cuts in Book About 9/11 and Terror Fight"

In today's Washington Post, Robert Samuelson argues that it was liberal protectors of the entitlements, not the Tea Party, that "won" the most in last week's debt deal. The military, he says, was the real loser:

New York Times: "Giffords’s Return Marks Moment of Unity in Divided House"

Can the debt deal pass the House of Representatives? House speaker John Boehner has said he believes he has the votes from the Republican caucus, and Steny Hoyer, the Democratic minority whip, says he can deliver 80 to 100 votes from his side of the aisle. Key GOP House members who have said…

Members of Congress and their staff who know and care about defense are somewhere between alarmed and panicked at the emerging shape of the debt ceiling deal. (Consider this amazing on-the-record statement by Senator Joe Lieberman’s communications director to Jennifer Rubin just a few minutes ago:…

House Republicans held a press conference in the Capitol Saturday to denounce what they called dangerous cuts to defense spending in Senator Harry Reid's debt limit bill. Buck McKeon (R, Calif.), chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, warned that Reid's bill would cut defense by more than…

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan agrees with conservative national security experts that Harry Reid's debt ceiling bill is much worse than Boehner's bill for our national security.

Rep. Buck McKeon (R-Calif.), the chair of the House Armed Services Committee, has released a statement on the Gang of Six deficit reduction proposal:

This afternoon Senator Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) unveiled his own proposal to reduce to deficit. The plan, which purports to reduce the deficit by over $9 trillion over the next decade, does so by cutting discretionary spending and entitlements as well as by raising some revenue and counting savings on…

"Thirteen Clear Factual Errors" in that Time magazine cover story on the Constitution.

In the next month, after more than four decades of distinguished public service including almost five extraordinary years at the Pentagon supervising the successful surges in Iraq and Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates will retire. He departs as the very model of a Washington “wise man,”…

Not that long ago it looked like President Obama had Republicans right where he wanted them. As the debate over the 2011 budget played out on Capitol Hill, he threatened to veto the legislation if it cut one dollar more from defense spending than the budget request submitted by Secretary of Defense…

In his budget speech last week, Barack Obama mounted his third attack on U.S. defense spending. In 2009 the White House directed Defense Secretary Robert Gates to terminate more than $300 billion in weapons programs, including the F-22 Raptor, the world’s most capable aircraft, and the Army’s…