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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Pentagon cutbacks not enough

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In this photo provided by ABC, CIA Director Leon Panetta is interviewed on ABC's "This Week" Sunday, June 27, 2010. The U.S. has driven al-Qaida into hiding and undermined its leadership, but is struggling to oust its primary sympathizer, the Taliban, from Afghanistan, Panetta said. "We're seeing elements of progress, but this is going to be tough," he told "This Week." (AP Photo/ABC, Fred Watkins) NO ARCHIVES. NO SALES.

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Updated: March 1, 2012 8:33AM



At a time when budgets are tight, and programs and services in our community are being cut back, the Pentagon budget keeps getting bigger.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta announced last week that he plans to slow the rate of growth for the Pentagon budget, but even under this proposal the Pentagon budget in 10 years would still be bigger than it is today.

We hope that our members of Congress will stick with the current law, which requires the Pentagon to cut its budget by nearly $1 trillion over the next decade — twice what the secretary is proposing. Over the last decade, the Pentagon budget has grown 100 percent. Some of that was to pay for the wars, but a lot of it went right into the Pentagon budget. We are all having to cut back. The Pentagon should have to as well.

Linda and Randy Balla,

Evanston

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