Mullen & Panetta: Pakistan-Born Terror, Mass Cuts Threaten Military

In his final testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday, Admiral Michael Mullen, the  outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warned lawmakers about Pakistani-based extremists’ ability to operate undeterred and, in some instances, aided by elements of the nation’s government.

“The Haqqani network for one acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan’s Internal Services Intelligence Agency,” Mullen said, adding that the intelligence agency, known typically as ISI, may have helped Haqqani carry out a recent truck bomb attack in Afghanistan, and assaults on the U.S. embassy and a Kabul based hotel.

Mullen explained that ISI’s use of terror attacks may be aimed at balancing power in the region, but ultimately strains strategic relations between the U.S. and Pakistan.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, who was making his first appearance before the Committee since taking the reins at the Pentagon, emphasized a very different problem, the impact of the massive budget cuts set to go into effect in the Congressional supercommittee fails to find $1.5 trillion in cuts.

“This mechanism would force Defense cuts that would do catastrophic damage to the military,” Panetta said. “It is kind of a blind formula that makes cuts all across the board and guarantees we will hollow out the force.”

Panetta acknowledged that the Department has already been instructed to cut $400 billion and explained that no decision has been made yet regarding where savings will be found, but that the search will be done strategically instead of across-the-board.