Cuts would impact military modernization.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.
• Position: Defense Insider

* Former Republican senator from Missouri James Talent, a defense industry adviser who opposes cuts to the Pentagon budget, agrees that the absence of "strategic clarity" is getting in the way of a cohesive plan to tackle the debt. "The lack of direction from the highest level of civilian authority since the Cold War ended through now, almost four presidents, is extremely frustrating," Talent says.

But Talent, like several current GOP lawmakers, believes that the way to curtail the national debt is to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, not defense. "Defense has been a declining portion both of the GDP and the federal budget," says Talent. "If you...