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Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Pentagon seeks to avert a looming collapse in defense spending

Pentagon pitches austerity plan to nervous Wall Street

By Andrea Shalal-Esa

WASHINGTON | Tue Oct 5, 2010 5:54pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn met with over a dozen Wall Street analysts last week to map out Pentagon cost-cutting plans aimed at averting a collapse in defense spending the likes of which was seen at the end of the Cold War.

Lynn tried to assure the analysts that the Defense Department could continue to fund its biggest weapons purchases and still meet personnel costs by trimming $100 billion over five years from overhead and low priority programs, according to accounts of the meeting obtained by Reuters.

The Pentagon confirmed the meeting took place, but gave no details.



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