LET'S WATCH THIS CLOSELY – AT 9:44 P.M. ET:  The left is up to its usual tricks, and the trick they love the most, it appears, is cutting the defense budget.  Now, true, there are probably significant savings in the Pentagon, especially in the procurement area, but the left will never be satisfied with just that.  These boys have big plans.  From the Washington Times:

The political left is pressing the White House and Congress to inflict a wave of Pentagon budget cuts not seen since the post-Cold War 1990s.

Liberals are citing the debt crisis and troop drawdowns from Iraq and Afghanistan to argue that now is the time for the Defense Department to shed people, missions and weapons after a decade of doubling arms spending after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

They have not noticed the rise of China and the fact that Russia is re-arming.  But these are people who believe that strumming a guitar and singing songs of peace will actually prevent war. 

The proposals, including one from the Center for America Progress, go well beyond President Obama’s call in April for $400 billion in defense cuts over 12 years. The center — run by John Podesta, who served as chief of staff to President Clinton — wants that much in reductions over the next three years and $1 trillion from what had been projected increases over the next decade.

Some House Democrats, led by Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, also have called for $1 trillion in cuts.

Field Marshal Frank is that well-known military strategist.

“I think this is the time because of a combination of the deficit and the changing way in which we’re going to deal with threats from groups like al Qaeda,” said American Progress’ Lawrence Korb, a longtime defense analyst in Washington.

Mr. Korb said the Obama administration has dumped President George W. Bush’s overall war strategy of preemptive attacks against terrorist states, and he cited just-retired Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates’ warning against any future land wars in the Middle East.

The bottom line is that the center wants projected increases ended and the overall arms budget reduced to $500 billion by 2016, which would be $111 billion below the Pentagon’s already pared-down projection.

COMMENT  These drastic demands will result in many ships mothballed or not built at all, obsolete planes not replaced, and a military with far less capability than we will need to deter war.

The United States had four major drawdowns in the 20th century, and we lived to regret each one.  Yes, find savings where they can be found, but the drastic cutters are looking to cut bone, and somebody's kid is going to pay for it, and not with money.

July 18, 2011