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| -Election 2012 |
| Panetta Says Political 'Dysfunction' Threatens U.S. Security |
| 2012-06-23 |
| The "dysfunction" in the U.S. Congress, where Republicans and Democrats have failed to compromise on debt reduction, threatens U.S. national security, according to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ...current SecDef, previously Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Panetta served as President Bill Clinton's White House Chief of Staff from 1994 to 1997 and was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1993.... "One my greatest concerns as secretary is the dysfunction that we see in Washington," he said late Thursday at a ceremony in which he received an award for public service. "It threatens our security and it raises questions about the capacity of our democracy to respond to crisis." He went on to express concern over a round of automatic defense spending cuts set to take effect in January 2013 in the event that feuding politicians are unable to hammer out a deal to slash the country's $15.8 trillion debt. "It will force the Department of Defense to throw our new defense strategy out the window. It will pose, I believe, an unacceptable risk to our ability to defend the country," Panetta said. If Congress fails to agree on how to slash spending by January, dramatic defense reductions of about $500 billion would be automatically triggered under a law adopted last year. Bitterly divided politicians have been struggling for the past year to reach a deal to rein in the debt, with Republicans demanding steep cuts in spending and Democrats calling for higher taxes on the wealthy. The looming election-year showdown comes as President Barack Obama B.O.... , a Democrat, fights for a second term in a campaign dominated by fears over the sluggish U.S. economic recovery. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 Slightly off topic, but in the still within the realm of dysfunctional; as the former DCI, please tell us if you will Mr. Panetta, what you knew about F&F? |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2012-06-23 07:16 |
| #2 Former SecState James Baker would likely agree wid Leon ... To wit, * CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [CharlesRose.com = Video wid Hillary]FORMER US SECRETARY [SecState] JAMES BAKER SAYS US CANNOT BE A SUPERPOWER [anymore] IFF THE ECONOMY IS NOT CORRECTED. Regressionism = implosion, USSA-STYLE??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-06-23 00:38 |
| #1 Are we talking real cuts or a reduction in pre-programmed expansion? "It will force the Department of Defense to throw our new defense strategy out the window. Ignoring the continuation of past and present program of military welfare for first world countries in Europe and Asia. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2012-06-23 00:09 |