Budget cuts: how much is too much?

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: Defense Insider - Brief article

* An influential national-security think tank has concluded that the nation's status as the world's superpower and the U.S. military's global presence strategy can be maintained, even with reduced budgets. Analysts at the Center for a New American Security estimate that up to $550 billion in budget reductions over the next decade could be made without compromising U.S. military dominance.

"We recognize that we are in the midst of a debate about how much and how far to shrink." says retired Army Lt. Gen. David W. Barno, a CNAS senior advisor and co-author of the study.

The Pentagon could absorb up to $550 billion in cuts over the next 10 years and continue to do most of its missions, the study notes.

Gordon Adams, professor of U-S. foreign policy at...