Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said sequester cuts to the military had "badly damaged" U.S. readiness for national security threats and to handle crises around the world Sunday on Meet The Press.
"I think our readiness has been badly damaged," he said. "We've got 12 combat squadrons that have been grounded. Half of the Air Force is not combat ready. We've got ships that are not being deployed. We've got training rotations that have been canceled. We've got 800,000 federal employees that have been furloughed under sequester and that are now taking a hit on the shutdown. All of this is impacting on our readiness and our ability to be able to handle a major crisis outside of Afghanistan."
Full exchange:
LEON PANETTA: We are paying a heavy price right now for what is happening to this country. America is being weakened, and that's the last thing that ought to happen. Members swear an oath to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. What they're doing by the shutdown, by this threat on the debt limit, is weakening America and sending a message to the world that the United States can't govern. That's a lousy message for the world to hear.
DAVID GREGORY: When sequester was passed, before it was passed, you warned, as Defense Secretary, of grave consequences for America's military readiness. There's some who look at that and say, that was an overstatement. That yes, sequester cuts have hurt. But as you sit here now, out of office, out of your job as Defense Secretary, do you believe America is critically unprepared for a national security threat that can be met?
PANETTA: I think our readiness has been badly damaged. We've got 12 combat squadrons that have been grounded. Half of the Air Force is not combat ready. We've got ships that are not being deployed. We've got training rotations that have been canceled. We've got 800,000 federal employees that have been furloughed under sequester and that are now taking a hit on the shutdown. All of this is impacting on our readiness and our ability to be able to handle a major crisis outside of Afghanistan.
GREGORY: The president just launched two special operations here to fight terrorists. If that's the number one goal, he seems to have been quite capable of launching that in this past week.
PANETTA: Look, the SEALs and their operations and our ability to use special forces in these kinds of attacks, yes. But let me tell you something. On the broader crisis such as the Middle East, we are going to be impacting on our readiness and our ability to respond to a crisis in that part of the world.