Will Pentagon be exempt from budget cuts?

With pressure to slash the 1.3 trillion-dollar federal deficit rising sharply, the public debate over whether to exempt the Pentagon from such cuts is moving rapidly toward center-stage. Two major bipartisan reports–including one commissioned by President Barack Obama -- released over the past 10 days argued against such an exemption. But powerful Republicans, whose party win control of the House of Representatives and boosted their influence in the Senate in the mid-term elections earlier this month, seem determined to oppose any cuts to the U.S. military. But a big unknown is what will be the attitude of the several dozen Republicans identified with the "Tea Party" movement who will take their seats in the new Congress in January. While some, notably former Republican vice- presidential candidate Sarah Palin, actually favor more spending on the military, others, led by Kentucky Senator- elect Rand Paul, have insisted that defense cuts must be on the table. Whether these new deficit hawks will form an alliance with liberal Democrats–whose influence has actually increased within the party's Congressional caucus due to the defeat of many pro-defense conservative Democratic incumbents–to force cuts in military spending promises to be one of the more-interesting questions that will play out over the coming year.