“Cutting The Pentagon’s Budget Is A Gift To Our Enemies”

That was the proposition being debated on the NPR’s Intelligence Squared. Moderated by 

ABC News’ John Donvan, this debate featured Thomas Donnelly–Co-Director, Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies, AEI–and Andrew Krepinevich–President, Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, who argued for the motion; and Benjamin Friedman–Research Fellow, Cato Institute–and Kori Schake–Research Fellow, Hoover Institution, who argued against it.  

Here is description of the debate: 

Political gridlock in Washington triggered across-the-board spending cuts, known as the sequester, in March. As a result, the Pentagon was given six months to eliminate $41 billion from the current year’s budget, and unlike past cuts, this time everything is on the table. In 2011, America spent $711 billion dollars on its defense—more than the next 13 highest spending countries combined. But the burdens it shoulders, both at home and abroad, are unprecedented. Could the sequester be a rare opportunity to overhaul the armed forces, or will its impact damage military readiness and endanger national security?