With another round of sequester cuts pending, tensions over military budget cuts continue to grow. US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel outlined a stark choice: Maintain a high-tech force that may not have enough troops to deal with major conflicts or keep a larger but less well-equipped force that could leave troops’ lives in danger.

Is there a way out? Michael O’Hanlon is senior fellow with the Center for 21st Century Security and Intelligence and director of research for the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. He’s also author, most recently, of “Healing the Wounded Giant: Maintaining Military Preeminence while Cutting the Defense Budget.” O’Hanlon joined me for Conversations with Thinkers.