article_snippet: For years, we have systematically underfunded our military, marrying a philosophy of retreat with a misplaced understanding of our larger budgetary burdens and the real drivers of the debt: our entitlement programs.
article_snippet: As expected, almost four years after the passage of the Budget Control Act, virtually nothing has been done to address the unsustainable growth of our entitlement programs, while essential defense programs have been sacrificed.
article_snippet: Yet, even as the world outside our borders is filled with more doubt and uncertainty, the United States has been steadily reducing our spending on defense.
article_snippet: Even before sequestration, President Obama made defense cuts of $487 billion over 10 years and redirected the savings to already bloated domestic programs.
article_snippet: This was followed by tens of billions more in defense cuts each year because of sequestration, which, when combined with President Obama's prior cuts, will total $1 trillion over the coming decade.
article_snippet: All of these reductions were enacted despite the warnings of four secretaries of defense and our entire military leadership.
article_snippet: The results of these cuts have been disastrous for our military and for our ability to project power and deter our enemies.
article_snippet: The slight increase in President Obama's proposed 2016 budget won't significantly change that.
article_snippet: At the end of this process, our military will be significantly smaller, dramatically less capable and dangerously unready to deploy if these cuts remain in place.
article_snippet: The Army is on the path to be reduced to pre-World War II levels.
highlights_snippet: As threats have grown, U.S. defense budget has faced cuts .
  