Panetta highlights DoD counter-terror role as budget cuts loom

US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta on 20 November outlined a case for mitigating cuts to defence spending, noting that major wars are winding down but the military remains busy, particularly with counter-terrorism.

The Pentagon may be subject to across-the-board funding cuts due to 'sequestration' if Congress cannot agree a debt reduction deal, and further defence funding cuts may also be part of that deal.

However, Panetta suggested the US Department of Defense (DoD) should not be a budget target just because it is concluding large-scale military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"This is not like periods in the past, when we came out of a war ... and then threats diminish," he said during a speech at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, DC.

"We still are involved in a war on terrorism" against Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, are still at war in Afghanistan, and are also working to meet congressionally mandated fiscal responsibilities while implementing a new defence strategy that includes a 'rebalance' towards the Asia-Pacific region," Panetta said.