http://thehill.com/policy/finance/219165-ryan-blasts-obama-for-previous-push-for-defense-spending-cutsBy Rebecca Shabad - 09/29/14 10:24 AM EDT
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is blasting President Obama's call for cuts to defense spending, arguing they would "devastate" the Pentagon at a time of war.
Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, offered support for Obama's air strikes and plan to arm Syrian rebel groups, but said the president's proposed cuts to military spending are coming at the wrong time.
“The thing that comes to my mind is why is he proposing a budget to devastate the Pentagon? Why is he proposing to shrink our Army to a level we haven’t seen since pre-WW2, our Navy since pre-WW1, and our Air Force to the lowest level we’ve ever seen before?” Ryan said on “CBS This Morning.”
“So the facts of his policies don’t necessarily jive with what he’s saying,” Ryan said, adding, “we ought to have the kind of military that can do what he says we’re capable of or should be doing.”
Ryan said he agreed with Obama's comments that the United States underestimated the threat from the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, and he argued that other mistakes made by the administration exacerbated ISIS's growth.
Ryan said the adminstration should have armed Syrian rebel groups earlier, and he faulted Obama for not getting an agreement with Iraq allowing more U.S. troops to stay in the country.
