'US should slash military budget'

readmore

Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell says the ballooning budget deficit can only be reduced through trimming the military and entitlement spending.

With the US national debt now standing at record high of over $14 trillion, Republicans have ramped up their calls to slash state funds for a rash of scientific researches, housing and education plans as well as other non-military programs instead of military spending -- in an effort to rein in the country's huge budget deficit. 

Powell bristled at Republican leaders for playing politics with the budget, saying the only antidote to tackle the budget deficit is to curb the military expenditures. 

In an interview with CNN on Sunday, the former secretary of state under the presidency of George W. Bush said he does not think the Pentagon's budget should be made sacrosanct. 

"When the Cold War ended 20 years ago, when I was chairman and [Dick] Cheney was Secretary of Defense, we cut the defense budget by 25 percent. And we reduced the force by 500,000 active duty soldiers, so it can be done. Now, how fast you can do it and what you have to cut out remains to be seen, but I don't think the defense budget can be made sacrosanct and it can't be touched," Powell stated. 

He made the remarks as the administration of US President Barack Obama has proposed cutting $78 billion from the military budget in the next five years. 

The proposal has prompted grave concerns among many Republicans, who are deeply worried about the US involvement in overstretched wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the necessary financial support for the missions abroad.