'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
The Pentagon's civilian workforce, which expanded dramatically during President Obama's first three years, is not facing any significant reductions even as the Defense Department is slashing ground troops by more than 10 percent, retiring ships and combat planes, and putting off the purchases of some new weapons.
President Obama has once again turned to an architect of President Bush's war strategy to fill a major civilian post in his administration - this time elevating Gen. David H. Petraeus, who oversaw the Iraq surge, to be CIA chief, and tapping current agency head Leon E. Panetta to become the next defense secretary.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tuesday that the midterm election results would not change the Obama administration's policies abroad.
"The good news is that al Qaeda as an organization has been badly weakened, but it's important to keep the pressure on them," said Christopher Preble, director of foreign-policy studies at the Cato Institute.
Sequestration could idle civilian defense workers by thousands →
"Because government always gets bigger," he said.
