Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told lawmakers on Thursday the Pentagon - a department that prides itself on being ready for everything from war to natural disaster - had no plan at all for dealing with the real threat of another $50 billion in budget cuts next year/.../
Todd Harrison, of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments think tank, warned in a recent paper the Pentagon was being overly optimistic about not having to cut further. Previous military drawdowns have seen spending decline for a decade, not remain flat as in Pentagon's projections, he said.
"The failure to plan for the possibility of additional reductions in defense spending is a major shortfall in the new defense strategy," Harrison wrote. "The Pentagon can and should begin preparing for the possibility of more reductions, especially the prospect of sequestration."