Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) held a hearing today with top U.S. defense and security policy experts to discuss security matters in Iraq. McCain and other GOP committee members focused their questions on Pres. Obama's decision to withdraw from Iraq by the end of this year.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey testified along with a second panel of military policy experts before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
Defense cuts in the defense industry and in the government were the point of conversation. Panetta and Dempsey reiterated their Congressional testimony from last month when they warned that the political gridlock in Congress constitutes a national security threat.
Panetta also expressed that additional defense spending cuts would devastate the military. The Secretary was referring to the August deficit reduction bill, which raises the debt ceiling and calls on Congress to pass at least $1.2 trillion in additional savings in order to avoid automatic cuts in defense and other spending.
Today's hearing is the first time Sec. Panetta and Gen. Dempsey have testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee in their current roles.