(defense.gov)
Leon Panetta
doesn't have a problem with the debt deal's initial round of $350 billion in cuts to the defense department:
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta pledged Wednesday to avoid "hasty, ill-conceived" cuts that would imperil national defense as the Pentagon works to reduce security spending by some $350 billion as part of a debt reduction deal.
But if Congress doesn't approve the super committee's deficit reduction plan, he thinks it would put America in grave danger:
National security spending could take another $600 billion hit over 10 years if Congress misses an end-of-the-year deadline to approve further government savings to be identified in coming months by a special budget panel. [...] he expressed concern about a deeper second "round of dangerous across-the-board defense cuts that would do real damage to our security."
"This potential deep cut in defense spending is not meant as policy. Rather, it is designed to be unpalatable to spur responsible, balanced deficit reduction and avoid misguided cuts to our security," Panetta said.
"This outcome would be completely unacceptable to me as secretary of defense, the president, and to our nation's leaders," he said, promising to do all he could to help lawmakers make "common-sense cuts."
In other words, if you don't support whatever cuts the Super Congress tries to shove down our throats, you don't support the troops.