Europe defence cuts stoke Pentagon fears

The Pentagon is pursuing two goals – to reduce bureaucratic overheads in defence spending so as to get more money to troops in the field and to encourage US allies to pick up more of the burden.

However, in Europe, swingeing cuts planned by the likes of Germany and the UK increase Washington’s concerns that it will end up picking up the slack left by its allies.

Report of a FT interview with Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff in the US, the US’s top military official.