Skepticism mounts over super committee.

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

Budget experts are calling for the super committee to take bold action in cutting military spending, considering the enormous growth the Pentagon's budget has seen in the past decade.

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The fear mongering about defense cuts of a trillion dollars over the next decade being detrimental to national security is nonsense, said Gordon Adams, professor of international relations at American University. "For all the horror stories, cancelled programs, wasted dollars, the U.S. military is globally dominant and globally capable," Adams wrote in a blog post. The super committee, which he believes is "designed to fail" should take a serious look at defense and "recommend a more stern version of discipline than $350 billion in fewer resources than the Pentagon currently projects," Adams said.

"Something like 15 percent fewer resources than those planned over the next decade would be a useful target...