Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel
warned Wednesday that $52
billion in cuts to the Pentagon budget for the 2014 fiscal year would
seriously compromise U.S. capabilities in combat situations. The New York Times
reports that Hagel wrote a letter to Congress expressing his strong opposition
to the reductions.
“I strongly oppose cuts of that
magnitude,” Hagel wrote. “The size, readiness and technological superiority of
our military will be reduced, placing at much greater risk the country’s
ability to meet our current national security commitments.”
-snip-
According to a poll released last
year by the Program for Public Consultation, the Center for Public Integrity
and the Stimson Center,
76 percent of Americans believe that the defense budget should be cut.
Ninety percent of those in Democratic congressional districts and 67 percent in
Republican districts were in favor of reductions.
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