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Budget concerns at odd with national security concerns?

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    Which issue is winning out?

  • Duration 4:45
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Happening now is -- big budget axe that's teetering on the Pentagon if no deal is reached -- moving automatic had said to kick in on March 1.

In this intervening address the president warning of the dangers.

If no action is taken.

These sudden.

Harsh.

Arbitrary cut would jeopardize our military readiness.

They devastate priorities like education and energy and medical search.

They would certainly slower recovery.

And cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs.

That's why Democrats Republicans business leaders and economists have -- said that these cuts.

Known here in Washington as the sequester.

A really bad idea.

So how much of our national defense and being decided right now by financial concerns.

Rather than the realities.

Our national security major general Bob scales as the Fox News military analyst and joins us now and it's a general scales -- think about that many see the list of things that.

Are concerning nation the president mapped out initiated the union North Korea and Afghanistan Iran for example but off the attention paid to defense -- What's what's -- out when it comes to our our national security the real national security concerns.

Or or the budgetary ones.

-- budgetary ones -- look.

This these cuts couldn't happen at a worse time we just saw the north Koreans exploded -- a couple of days ago or.

Could they be more misdirected look I've been through these cuts three times in my lifetime after Vietnam.

During the Carter era of and and during the peace dividend in the ninety's we always reduce our.

Defense budget after wars but this is just awful because it affects those very the things that are most important to us now.

Like operations and training.

And the compact that we have what they're young men and women in uniform some of whom have had 5672.

Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And now we have to turn around and let them go because we can't pay their salary us -- -- this is off.

Let's talk a little bit about Afghanistan because the president's talking about in the drawdown -- troops have for gonna be there -- -- -- bear now at this time next year.

It's interesting when you look the president's budget he's already taken into consideration.

The -- in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the savings.

From no longer being at war that's not how everyone counts that but that's how the president has so.

If if they don't follow this scheduled than their budget will look different those savings will not be there and so one wonders is.

You know what where's the priority making sure that the troops -- in with the -- whether or not the troops.

Deal with the Taliban I mean if and it is how high -- how do you -- you've you've seen this pattern that work out how do you -- about both things.

Well this is the first time we've come out of a war general without really coming out of -- war.

The American presence will be in Afghanistan probably for another four to five years and beginning in 2014 the forces there will be down to something like 32000.

-- your point that's already been taken out of the budget.

And that's going to leave our our presence there to do only two things counterterrorism.

Killing the Talabani.

And a little bit of advise and assist to the Afghan army.

Many inside the Pentagon say that that's not nearly enough right now.

Particularly given all the all the other uncertainties in the world in places like Iran and North Korea.

The risk is that.

These nations will.

Will -- calculate they'll make mistakes they they will misinterpret what America's all about when they see the Pentagon.

Going after its budget with the meat -- A quick question on this because I can imagine it's like to be in war right now which we are and hearing about the defense -- at home when you're on the battlefield.

But are -- places as you've been through this a couple of times where it good -- were made.

Post combat periods that we should consider because we are in -- financial situation that we are.

Absolutely Jenna and no one disputes that defense budgets should go down after a long war absolutely true.

Two things have to happen first of all the budget has to be -- the tied to the national strategy.

As we reduce our resource -- we reduce our our ambitions in the world and secondly it has to be done in a careful measured.

Well thought out way not just going after training and maintenance and salaries.

With the meat -- which apparently is what's going to happen on the first.

One measurement that is a bad idea how we continue to hear that from both sides that so far no solution on the horizon to prevent.

These cats from happening general scales always great to -- sir thank you.

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