|
 Sequestration
is "absolutely crazy," will hurt national security and make it
"impossible" for the United States to meet its global commitments,
according to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The
world has changed dramatically since sequestration was passed into
law in the Budget Control Act of 2011, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey
said.
Dempsey spoke Thursday, in an interview
aboard his plane as he returned to Washington following a European
trip focusing on threats to the continent.
"The combination
of the Budget Control Act and the sequestration mechanism will make
it impossible for us to meet our global responsibilities," he said.
The sequestration mechanism forces across-the-board government
spending cuts, a "mechanical withdrawal" that "doesn't allow you to
balance your books," Dempsey said.
"The readiness hole is
still the readiness hole. The global security environment is more
dangerous and sequestration is still on the books as the law. It's
absolutely crazy for this country," the top general said.
A
More Dangerous World
The changes in the global environment
since 2011 include the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and
the Levant, Russia's fueling of instability in Ukraine, and a "host
of security issues," he said.
"ISIL hadn't manifested itself
as a trans-regional threat," the chairman said. "Russia had not
annexed Crimea and violated the sovereignty of Ukraine, and in so
doing, by the way, stirred up nationalism and ethnicity in Europe in
a very unhelpful way."
In addition, the United States is now
engaged in trying to reduce sources of instability in Africa,
including the mission supporting the fight against Ebola.
In
those years since the law was passed, the world has also seen
provocations by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Dempsey said.
"All those things require consideration of forward presence,
readiness, resourcing, countering technological advances by some of
our potential adversaries, and that's changed a great deal," the
chairman said. "We're trying to encourage everyone to understand
that change."
Sequestration Hurts National Defense
Military leaders in 2010 were predicting that even if the United
States withdrew from Iraq and Afghanistan, he said, the military
would need three or four years to recover its readiness.
"Because for 10 years we've been focused very narrowly on the
counter-insurgency, counter-terror threat and we've lost some of our
training edge," Dempsey said.
The United States deferred
maintenance on some of its high-end capabilities because of
sequestration, he said, including ships, submarines and airplanes.
In a separate interview with DoD News while in Europe last week,
the chairman said he would like to have a "conversation with
Congress" about reversing the effects of sequestration.
"If
they're not reversed, they're going to be imposed in 2016, and they
will negatively affect our national security interests," he said.
The chairman added, "Collaboratively we shouldn't allow that to
happen."
By Lisa Ferdinando
DOD
News / Defense Media Activity
Copyright 2015
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