NATO's Military Budgets Are To Be Slashed

NATO Allies Poised To Slash Military Budgets; Gates Urges Other Cost Savings -- Washington Post

LONDON -- European allies are bracing for their deepest cuts in military spending since the end of the Cold War, fueling concerns in Washington that an already wide gap in military power between the United States and the rest of NATO will grow.

On Monday, the German government said it is looking to reduce its 250,000-member military by at least 40,000 troops; the defense minister has suggested that a whopping cutback of 100,000 might be necessary.

Meanwhile, analysts project that Britain may have to cut its defense budget by 10 to 15 percent over the next six years as it grapples with what Prime Minister David Cameron has called "a staggering amount of debt."

France and Italy are also contemplating manpower reductions.

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My Comment: The Europeans are broke, and what is worse they lack the political will to fix it. But the line in this post that caught my attention was the following ....

In the United States, however, the Obama administration has declared defense and national security programs off-limits to the budget ax.

.... off-limits for how long? My prediction is that when the commission examining the U.S. budget deficit releases its report after the November elections, there will be a call to cut government programs, with the military being on the top of the list. Trillion dollar deficits are not sustainable .... regardless of what is "off-limits".