The Pentagon Economizes

In the past, red pencils weren’t part of the U.S. military’s marching kit. The last time the Pentagon budget was cut was in 1998. But due to the gigantic U.S. budget deficit, leaner times for the nation’s warriors have also been announced. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates just said the defense budget would be cut some $78 billion. That’s a lot when compared to the current €31.5 billion ($40.7 billion) Bundeswehr budget. Compared to the world’s most powerful military machine, however, everything becomes relative upon closer inspection. Shortly before Christmas, Congress gave the Pentagon a $700 billion present, including $159 billion for operations in Afghanistan and the continued occupation of Iraq. That’s the largest defense budget since the end of the Second World War — with billions more hidden in other budgets, such as the cost of the nuclear arsenal tucked away in the Department of Energy’s budget. Since the savings have been spread out over five years, they lose even more of their glitter. The bulk of the reductions don’t kick in until 2015, after operations in the Hindu Kush supposedly will have largely ended. So the Pentagon faces 2012 with a basic budget of $553 billion. While that’s $13 billion less than originally requested, that figure still represents a three percent increase over the previous budget.

“Substantial savings” looks a lot different than that.