This article asks the question, "Can Obama cut the military in the face of a rising China?"
Why, yes. Yes he can.
It was clear early on that the administration plans to coast on our defense capabilities in the near term based on past defense investments, risking our military superiority in the medium term in a modernized version of Britain's ten-year rule after World War I.
Politicians to the left of the president (on military issues) already staked out positions clearly designed to pull President Obama left, with the excuse of whittling down our budget deficit on the backs of defense despite being at war.
The president should not gut our defense capabilities. But he can. And he'll certainly try. Given our budget problems, I have little faith that we can hold the line on defense spending. I also have little faith that our leaders won't turn around and spend whatever is saved on domestic programs.