The U.S. and 29 other nations have begun the biggest mine-clearing exercise in the Persian Gulf region, a show of force as tensions escalate over a threatened Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
That is how Pentagon officials, lawmakers and industry executives have described $500 billion in automatic military budget cuts set to kick in Jan. 2 unless Congress comes up with a solution.
Defense analyst Andrew Krepinevich, at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, says China’s rapid development of its military arsenal raises concerns about possible Chinese expansionism.
Congress is supposed to pass spending bills for all federal agencies, but lawmakers never did that this year. Stop-gap funding is especially hard for agencies that have to plan way ahead, like the Pentagon.
The presidential election will have little impact on the overall trajectory of defense policy and budgets, panelists said during a Brookings Institution event on Monday/…/
Dismayed at a returning Congress still struggling to avert automatic budget cuts, defense contractors could soon alert thousands of employees their jobs are at risk.
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