Skip to content

Hagel Plans to Shrink Military Dramatically

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel “plans to shrink the United States Army to its smallest force since before the World War II buildup and eliminate an entire class of Air Force attack jets in a new spending proposal that officials describe as the first Pentagon budget to aggressively push the military off the war footing adopted after the terror attacks of 2001,” the New York Times reports.  

“The proposal, described by several Pentagon officials on the condition of anonymity in advance of its release on Monday, takes into account the fiscal reality of government austerity and the political reality of a president who pledged to end two costly and exhausting land wars. A result, the officials argue, will be a military capable of defeating any adversary, but too small for protracted foreign occupations.”  

“The officials acknowledge that budget cuts will impose greater risk on the armed forces if they are again ordered to carry out two large-scale military actions at the same time: Success would take longer, they say, and there would be a larger number of casualties. Officials also say that a smaller military could invite adventurism by adversaries.”

Recent Stories

Senator accuses Kash Patel of directing FBI personnel ‘purge’

‘Constitutional duty’: House chairs make case for more committee operations funding

Democrats doubt Trump’s Gaza plan as president puts Arab allies on the spot

Judge temporarily blocks agencies from removing health data

House GOP preps all-in-one budget blueprint for committee vote

Senate tries again on thorny issue of kids online safety