WE'RE SPEECHLESS – AT 8:26 A.M. ET:  What does one say to madness?  From Fox:

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will reportedly propose a Pentagon budget that will shrink the U.S. Army to its smallest number since 1940 and eliminate an entire class of Air Force attack jets.

The New York Times reported late Sunday that Hagel's proposal, which will be released to lawmakers and the public on Monday, will call for a reduction in size of the military that will leave it capable of waging war, but unable to carry out protracted occupations of foreign territory, as in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Under Hagel's plan, the number of troops in the Army will drop to between 440,000 and 450,000, a reduction of at least 120,000 soldiers from its post-Sept.11 peak.

Officials told the Times that Hagel's plan has been endorsed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and protects funding for Special Operations forces and cyberwarfare. It also calls for the Navy to maintain all eleven of its aircraft carriers currently in operation. However, the budget proposal mandates the elimination of the entire fleet of Air Force A-10 attack aircraft, as well as the retiring of the U-2 spy plane, a stalwart of Cold War operations.

The budget plan does keep money for the F-35 warplane, a project which has been beset by delays and criticism over design flaws.

Other characteristics of the budget will likely draw further ire from veterans groups and members of Congress. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Hagel would recommend a limit on military pay raises, higher fees for health-care benefits, less generous housing allowances, and a one-year freeze on raises for top military brass.

COMMENT:  Look at this from the viewpoint of foreign adversaries like Russia, Iran and North Korea.  The sound you hear is the breaking out of caviar. 

We have tried these major drawdowns before, and every one of them has ended in disaster.

There is a reason Obama – who is a leftist, not a liberal – picked Kerry and Hagel.  Their mission is to reduce America as a world power, for Obama believes that it is the United States that is the source of many of the world' s problems.  He can't say it, but he's acting it.

I'd love to know where the "savings" from these cutbacks will go.  I think we all know.  Look for an increase in "programs" that will benefit the leaders of major Democratic constituency groups, but not necessarily benefit the followers.

February 24,  2014