Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has warned that the Pentagon will have to modify strategic goals if Congress enforces sequestration-level cuts to the fiscal 2016 defense budget, DoD News reported Wednesday.
Cheryl Pellerin writes Carter described the White House’s proposed defense funding increase as a “responsible, prudent approach” in the current global security environment when he testified at a House Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday.
“I want to be clear about this –- under sequestration, which is set to return in 197 days, our nation would be less secure,” Carter told the committee.
He added the department “would have to change the shape, and not just the size, of our military, significantly impacting parts of our defense strategy” if sequestration returns, according to DoD News.
During the meeting, he also explained a White House proposal to authorize the use of military force against the Islamic State organization.
Carter said the AUMF measure’s purpose is to give defense officials the flexibility to execute a campaign to defeat the militant group and prevent long periods of U.S. combat operation overseas.
“We don’t foresee having to conduct another campaign like Iraq or Afghanistan,” he told the committee.
