The deal to avert a US debt default should have little effect on the Pentagon's huge budget in the short term, but leaves the door open to sharp cuts that could force a strategy overhaul, experts say/…/ But experts say fresh deficit reduction efforts carried out under the new legislation could impose even more drastic cuts on the Pentagon, forcing the Defense Department to make some tough choices.
"That would force a rethink of our defense strategy and possibly our defense posture around the world: where we have troops deployed, how many forces we keep overseas," Todd Harrison of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments told AFP."So it definitely could alter US strategy/…/"
For Harrison, several budget items could come into play, from the number and types of units in the 1.4-million-strong military to "compensation and benefits" and "major weapons systems." "All of these variables will be looked at. Some of them are more difficult to do in the short term than others -- bringing down force structure and end strength can take time," Harrison told AFP.He predicted the equipment budget was "one of the most likely areas to be cut deeply," with plans for the F-35 fighter jet, or Joint Strike Fighter -- the Pentagon's most costly weapons program -- possibly on the chopping block. "