The American Enterprise Institute hosted an event with Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. He addressed the U.S. defense budget priorities and the impact of possible automatic budget cuts or sequestration next January. In remarks, Secretary Carter said the Defense Department needs to take a “rational strategic approach” to the budget and called the automatic budget cuts “completely irrational from management point of view”. Thomas Donnelly, co-director of AEI’s Center for Security Studies provides introductory remarks.