Panetta: Cuts, freezes possible in March

[No Elephants]

Published: Jan. 11, 2013 at 12:04 PM

WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he ordered the agency to prepare for the possible triple threat of spending cuts, no operating budget and debt default.

Panetta said the "perfect storm" could force the U.S. military into the worst possible scenario, a "hollow force," Politico reported.

He said the Pentagon would ratchet back on non-critical military maintenance, freeze civilian hiring along with furloughing civilian employees, stop issuing certain contracts and take "other steps" to counter the possibility of a roughly $45 billion in spending cuts that could go into effect in March unless Congress acts.

Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey said March's potential across-the-board budget cuts, the expiration of the continuing spending resolution that keeps government operating and the possibility the country could breach its debt limit required such preparation.

" at all three of those, we have no idea what the hell's going to happen," said Panetta, who's leaving as soon as his successor is confirmed. "All told this uncertainty, if left unresolved by the Congress, will seriously harm our military readiness."

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2013/01/11/Panetta-Cuts-freezes-possible-in-March/UPI-21091357923898/#ixzz2Hk17N7uF


I thought he couldn't wait to get back to growing his nuts? Why is he still bloviating?

Helping out the boss before he goes with one more dire warning about how military spending can't be cut.

Wouldn't want the value of Cheney's Halliburton stock to go down, now would we?

Besides, if it weren't for weapons and guns, what would our manufacturing consist of, a bunch of teeny cottage industries?


Panetta claims he left the Republican Party in 1971 because it had become too far right. LOL, it was at least four times more left than the Democratic Party is today, but that never seems to have gave Panetta any pause


I find it impossible to believe him.

After all, when Panetta became old enough to to vote for the first time, FDR was in office and the last Republican President had been Hoover. So, the Republican Party that Panetta had chosen to join was the Party of Hoover.

As far as nominating and electing Presidents, it went from Hoover to Eisenhower, whose Vice President for 8 years had been Richard Nixon.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party had gone from FDR to JFK, with his wimpy Peace Corps and space program and his civil rights stirrings. Then, all too soon to LBJ, with all that Great Society/War on Poverty legislation, a domestic package possibly more far reaching, more forward-looking-- and more socialist--than the New Deal.

And from LBJ to choosing whether to nominate Gene McCarthy or George McGovern, who lost every state in the nation, including his home state, except for Massachusetts. So, not only the Republican Party, but a lot of Blue states had turned to Nixon

Nixon was inaugurated for the first time in January 1969. Meanwhile, Panetta has been working for a Republican Senator and then goes to work in 1969 as assistant to Nixon's cabinet secretary for HEW.

And, at some point in 1971, Panetta says to himself, I loved me some Hoover and some Eisenhower/Nixon. But, after a year and some months, it has become plain to me that Nixon/Agnew And, sometime with the next is in office for barely a year, Panetta says to himself, well, I was okay with Hoover and 8 years of Eisenhower/Nixon, but a year of Nixon/Agnew is so much further to the right than Hoover and Eisenhower/Nixon. It's become obvious that I have moe kinship with the Party of FDR, LBJ, McCarthy and McGovern."

And, even when the party of FDR, McCarthy and McGoven beomes the Party of Clinton and Obama, both of whom are to the right of Nixon, Panetta has no problem working his way up in both administrations. And leaving his own office afer all these years in politics trying to scare people into leaving military spending alone and making sure cuts are pretty confined to "entitlements."

Yeah, I call bullshit.