Sunday, November 11, 2012

Thousands of Portuguese soldiers protest budget cuts

Here is an effect of the failing Euro that you don't hear much about; the cuts to military spending. The Portuguese Army has around 44,000 personnel, the equivalent to 4 US Army brigades. The Portuguese military is much more a homeland defense than a global military. Yet, even with this relative small role cuts to spending are having a severe impact on the service members salaries. One senior naval officer quoted in the article has had an average of 500-2,000 Euros cut from his salary each year since 2005.

The failing Euro and subsequent cuts to the European militaries mean they are less able to execute their missions. The morale of the Portuguese military is shot. The environment is ripe for insurrection, revolution or even a regional conflict.

The US should take heed before mandatory cuts to military spending start taking effect next year. The world is far less stable then we would like to think.

France24

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