host: we are joined by cedric leighton. secretary of defense until details on cutting the pentagon's budget. it sounds like a lot, but secretary leon panetta is starting the effort with $525 billion, a proposal veterans about 1% off of last year. put this in context. guest: 1% does not sound like a lot to a lot of people, but when you look at how resources are actually spend, they are over a bunch of different areas. basically, this leon panetta's budget is looking at a very different military, and they're trying to write such as the military for a new strategy. what we are dealing with is the -- right size the military for a new strategy. host: joined by colonel cedric leighton, u.s. air force retired. we will to phones a little different. if you are on the democratic line, -- since this segment if you are active or retired military, 202 -628-0184. before we die into the details, put into context historically where we were ranked -- rank. guest: in recent memory, it compares to the so-called peace dividend we thought we wo

let's bring in retired air force colonel cedric leighton. 26 years of experience as an intelligence officer much for joining us this morning. so let's kind of talk where we left off. we were talking about $450 billion going to be cut. there is another potential $500 billion in cuts that could be ordered if congress follows through to deeper reductions. i know that you are concerned about cuts specifically in the navy and the air important. tell me what your biggest fear. >> good morning. basic fear that i have is if they are going to move to an asia centric strategy as chris mentioned in his report, the problem you are going to run into is you know, if you don't have the navy and the air force that can handle the long distances you are going to not be able to be fulfill the needs of that strategy. so what will happen is right now what we have is the air force has already reduced approximately 6,000 of the civilian force. there's also reduced its senior officers considerably. and offered early retirement to several elements of the senior ranks and it is doing another round of civilian cuts a

and of former training director cedric leighton discusses pentagon reductions announced by leon panettaand how they might impact policy, weapons, and counterterrorism. "washington journal" live every day it's 7:00 a.m. eastern on c- span. >> next vice-president biden and president obama's remarks at the house democrats' annual retreat. in speeches by newt gingrich, mitt romney, and rick santorum. >> april 15, 2010, i arrived in paris. i walked into the hotel lobby. i met him for the first time and he looked at me and said, so you're the rolling stone died. i do not care about the article. i just want to be on the cover. >> he wrote about the u.s. and nato forces in afghanistan in the june 2010 edition of rolling stone. >> it is between you and lady gaga. it was just a joke, not knowing she would actually be on the cover. >> just put me and her in a heart-shaped tub. >> i thought this would be a different kind of general. >> as a result of the article, general mcchrystal had been fired. michael hastings continues the story and talks about his new book. sunday night on c-span. >> joe bide

cedric leighton discusses the pentagon reductions and how they might impact policy and counterterrorismhington journal" at 7:00 eastern on c-span. >> next tuesday, a hearing by the senate select committee on intelligence. the committee holds its annual hearing on global threats to the united states. cia director david petraeus, and fbi director are scheduled to testify. we will have live coverage beginning tuesday at 10:00 on c- span and c-span radio. >> the road to the white house coverage takes you live to the candidate events in florida through the weekend, building up to tuesday's gop primary. >> by the end of my second term -- [applause] we will have the first permanent base on the moon and it will be american. by the end of 2020, we will have the first continuous propulsion system in space capable of getting to mars in a short time because i am sick of being told we have to be timid and i am sick of being told we have to use technology that is 50 years old. >> when the founders said the creator had endowed us with certain inalienable rights, they laid out a path for america that w