The Romney 4 percent Pentagon budget is no “spike”; it’s more like a return to normal, even very constrained military spending given the global mission of America’s armed forces.

Under current law, the U.S. Department of Defense automatically faces significant spending cuts over the next 10 years—cuts that america's civilian and military leaders have cadidly described as "devastating" and "very high risk."

On Tuesday, May 15, join the American Enterprise Institute, the Center for a New American Security and the New America Foundation to discuss an issue sure to face the next president: U.S. defense spending in light of American grand strategy.

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently said if sequestration stands, "we wouldn't be the global power that we know ourselves to be today." He's right.

While the rest of us watching defense issues were still trying to make sense of what the new Pentagon budget actually means, the Chinese doubled down on their push to become Asia’s most powerful country.

 It’s time for policymakers to man up about the fact that the missions heaped upon the military are growing as they pour resources into handouts for bad mortgages, unemployment and other entitlements. Those who pay most dearly wear the uniform. They will not be able to keep it up much longer. And we won’t be the America we think we are anymore.

The Administration’s growing gap between the newest defense strategy and budget makes more sense when viewed in the context of the administration’s domestic priorities. Just as President Obama wants to raise taxes on some Americans in order to pay for others, the administration is weakening America’s military strength in order to pay for expansive domestic federal programs.

The worst part about sequestration is that it would take effect in January 2013 — at the start of calendar year 2013, but three months into the fiscal year. Without the ability to plan in advance at the Pentagon, everything would go to the chopping block in the middle of the annual budget cycle.