Defense Spending Debate Misses The Point

The Pentagon, contractors and defense mavens in Congress are in a state of high anxiety, and with good reason. A Nov. 23 deadline looms next week for a “Super Committee” of Congress to produce a plan to trim at least $1.2 trillion from the federal budget deficit over a decade. Automatic cuts—agreed to last summer in the budget deficit debate that almost led to an embarrassing default on ...