BREAKING NEWS

Defense not the cause of US budget deficit

WASHINGTON - Military spending is not the cause of the $1.4 trillion US budget deficit, and even a "disastrous" 10 percent cut would only reduce the budget shortfall by some $50 billion -- about 4 percent, Defense Secretary Robert Gates says.
Gates, in his final interview as Pentagon chief before stepping down on Friday, offered a robust defense of his effort to trim military spending since 2009 and said his successor was "on board" with his measured approach for finding new cuts.