One of the best presentations I heard at the recent IISS Geo-Economics and Strategy conference in Bahrain was by Todd Harrison from the Washington think tank the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.
Todd is an expert on US defense budgeting, and he crunched some historical numbers to conclude that the current reduction in US defence spending, which has come about partly because of sequestration but also because of the ending of Iraq and Afghanistan operations, probably still has some way to go, and that what the Pentagon regards as a floor in its budget might just be the new ceiling. As you'll hear in the interview below, which I conducted with Todd on Friday via Skype, the numbers involved are pretty dramatic.
I understand the paper Todd Harrison spoke to in Bahrain will be released later this week, and I will link to it when that happens. But meantime, take a listen to Todd Harrison on the US defence budget, and how the cutbacks will affect the US presence in the Asia Pacific.
[sound:131018_todd_harrison_edited.mp3]
Photo by Flickr user US Pacific Fleet.