attached imagevia U.S. Marine Corps  That America is heading
toward a tighter fiscal belt is a foregone conclusion. The big
question is what this will do to the military.  A lot of that
depends on Chuck Hagel, who, despite a testy nomination
process, is likely to be confirmed as the new secretary of
defense.  William Galston of The New Republic knocked one out of
the park with his analysis, titled "Forget Iran—Chuck Hagel's
toughest fight will be the Pentagon's budget."  From the post:
Defense spending typically drops following a war (or two), but
this is unprecedented.  So what's going to get cut?  Research
and development budgets will shrink, but this may just lead to
massive defense corporations controlling purse strings more
carefully. Cuts will likely cinch up reckless, costly,
overpriced embarrassments like the Navy's Littoral Combat Ship,
which, consequently, won't even survive in combat.  Expect Hagel
and other planners to come in and pretty much cancel programs
that aren't relevant in today's warf