Proposed Pentagon Cuts Could Cost Thousands of Virginia Jobs.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates has announced a plan to close the U.S. Joint Forces Command Center in Norfolk, which employs more than 6,000 people. In attacking the proposed closure Virginia Senator Jim Webb said:

"At a time when we are still fighting two wars, joint interoperability is critical and requires a considerable degree of cooperation," Webb is a former Navy secretary and current member of the Senate Armed Services Committee.

With the exception of Texas, no other state benefits more from defense spending than Virginia. National defense spending pumps 55 billion dollars a year into Virginia's economy. Virginia has a number of military bases, and Norfolk has the largest naval base in the world. Politicians of both parties fight hard to keep these assets, so you can imagine the concern with any proposal that calls for cuts in defense spending.

Webb believes that the Pentagon 'acted hastily' in making this decision, and put too much emphasis on budget reduction at the expense of national security.

I am in favor of cutting Federal spending, but shouldn't the Obama administration concentrate on areas where the Federal government does not belong. National defense is the government's primary responsibility, yet that seems to be the only area where liberals want to cut.