The failure of the U.S. Congressional Joint Committee on Deficit Reduction to reach agreement on budget cuts now sets the stage for $1.2 trillion in automatic reductions to begin in January 2013.
Should these cuts go into effect, the U.S. Defense Department, which already must implement $450 billion in reductions over 10 years, will take half the hit.
Pushback has already begun, with Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta arguing that further reductions will impose "substantial risk" to America's national security.