Spending by federal, state and local governments on payrolls, equipment, buildings, teachers, emergency workers, defense programs and other core governmental functions has been shrinking steadily since the deep 2007-2009 recession and as the anemic recovery continues.

This recent shrinkage has largely been obscured by an increase in spending on benefit payments to individuals under "entitlement" programs, including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans benefits. Retiring baby boomers are driving much of this increase.

Another round of huge cuts — known in Washington parlance as the "sequester" — will hit beginning March 1, potentially meaning layoffs for hundreds of thousands of federal workers unless Congress and President Barack Obama can strike a deficit-reduction deal to avert them.

With the deadline only a week off, Obama and Republicans who control the House are far apart over how to resolve the deadlock. While last-minute budget deals are frequent in Washington, neither side is optimistic of reaching one this time.

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The conflicting accounts came as NATO defense ministers gathered here to discuss the endgame of the 11-year-old war in Afghanistan. President Barack Obama has said that the last combat troops will leave Afghanistan on Dec. 31, 2014, leaving the bulk of the country's security in the hands of the Afghans.

German Defense Minister Thomas de Maiziere told reporters Panetta had informed him at the Brussels meeting that the United States would leave between 8,000 and 10,000 troops in the war-torn country at the end of 2014.

But Panetta, speaking to reporters later, called de Maiziere's comments inaccurate.

Panetta, who will leave Obama's Cabinet when his successor is confirmed, told reporters that he and the NATO partners instead talked about ranges of options for the post-2014 troop force. And he said the figures reflected contributions that other nations would make, in addition to the United States.

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They would lose one day of work per week, or 20 percent of their pay, for up to 22 weeks, probably starting in late April.

To dispel the notion that this is mainly a problem for the nation's capital, the Pentagon's budget chief, Robert Hale, told reporters that the economic impact would be felt nationwide. The biggest potential losses, in term of total civilian payroll dollars, would be in Virginia, California, Maryland, Texas and Georgia, according to figures provided by the Pentagon.

Hale said the unpaid leaves for civilian workers would begin in late April and would save $4 billion to $5 billion if extended through the end of the budget year, Sept. 30. That is only a fraction of the $46 billion the Pentagon would have to cut this budget year unless a deficit-reduction deal is reached.

Panetta also said the across-the-board spending reductions would "put us on a path toward a hollow force," meaning a military incapable of fulfilling all of its missions.

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Outgoing Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced this week a new medal for desk-bound warriors who control killer robots responsible for the deaths of thousands in South Asia, North Africa and the Middle East.

The Distinguished Warfare Medal will recognize drone pilots for their “extraordinary achievements that directly impact on combat operations, but do not involve acts of valor or physical risks that combat entails.”

In other words, what Glenn Greenwald  once described as “sitting safely ensconced in a bunker on U.S. soil and launching bombs with a video joystick at human beings thousands of miles away” is now considered an “extraordinary achievement.”

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The women (and some men) who were raped or sexually assaulted by fellow service members are often faced with field commanders, as well as a Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs, who refuse to recognize their claims, provide treatment or prosecute the offenders.

But now survivors of sexual assault in the military are speaking out, putting a human face to a silent epidemic.

In addition to an Oscar nod for “The Invisible War,” a documentary on the pervasive culture of sexual abuse in the military, a viral campaign "I Am One" is documenting the personal experiences of women survivors.

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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told lawmakers they recommended arming Syria's rebels.

President Obama ultimately decided against the move, said Reuters, instead providing non-lethal aid to rebels.

It is believed that anti-government rebels are being armed by Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

At a hearing in Congress Thursday, Republican Sen. John McCain asked Pentagon leaders: "How many more have to die before you recommend military action?"

The Telegraph reported that McCain pressed the leaders on the issue asking: "Did you support the recommendation by then-Secretary of State Clinton and then-head of CIA General Petraeus that we supply weapons to the resistance in Syria?"

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But the full medical, dental and housing allowances gay military couples have been fighting for will likely remain out of reach, at least for now.

Members of the military are federal employees, and extending equal benefits to gay personell would first require the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1996 law that defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman. That means that even gay couples who have legally recognized marriages in other states still fall under federal jurisdiction at the Pentagon -- and under the rules and restrictions of DOMA.

While the two-tiered system of benefits for gay and lesbian service members remains largely intact, experts believe the Pentagon's latest move toward fairness could help do away with DOMA, eventually:

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Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has not made a final decision on which benefits will be included, the officials said, but the Pentagon is likely to allow same-sex partners to have access to the on-base commissary and other military subsidized stores, as well as some health and welfare programs.

Panetta must walk a fine, legal line. While there has been increased pressure on the Pentagon to extend some benefits to same-sex partners, defense officials must be careful not to violate the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA. The federal law forbids the federal government from recognizing any marriage other than those between a man and a woman.

An announcement is expected to come in the next several days. Officials discussed the plan on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal Pentagon deliberations.

Pentagon press secretary George Little declined to comment. Other officials made it clear that there are still last-minute legal discussions going on to determine the details.

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A round up featuring the very best of the very worst.

Heather Mac Donald of the National Review

The Pentagon must think we are done fighting "real wars." Why else would they let women play army?

We have apparently arrived at the Golden Age, free from strife and the threat of foreign enemies. Little else can explain so gratuitous a decision as to place women in combat units.

And there will be so much military sex happening! (As we know, things are uncomfortable enough with the gays hanging around.)

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Along with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, Panetta is expected to formally announce the change on Thursday, Pentagon officials said. The military has been debating whether to let women fight on the front lines for years, though many women already serve in these positions, including piloting warplanes and serving on ships in combat areas. Almost 290,000 women have served in Afghanistan and Iraq since the beginning of both wars.

Panetta quietly opened 14,500 combat positions to women last year, and had vowed to lift the remaining exclusions from a 1994 ban on women in combat before his tenure with the Pentagon ended.

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Speaking to about 150 members of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Panetta said steps can be taken to protect kids in school without undermining the Second Amendment.

"Who the hell needs armor-piercing bullets except you guys in battle?" Panetta told the soldiers at the U.S. Army Garrison Vicenza in northern Italy. "For the life of me, I don't know why the hell people have to have assault weapons."

Panetta, who said he believes in the Second Amendment and has been a longtime duck hunter, was asked about the issue by a soldier who wanted to know what steps the Obama administration was going to take to deal with attacks in schools that "don't have to do with tearing apart our Second Amendment."

Known for his often blunt and colorful language, Panetta added that things can be done to protect children "so that the nuts that are out there won't use these kinds of weapons to wipe them out."

President Barack Obama's sweeping gun control package includes calls for a ban on assault weapons and a universal requirement for background checks on gun purchases.

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“Chuck Hagel is a decorated war hero who would be the first enlisted soldier and Vietnam veteran to go on to serve as Secretary of Defense. He had the courage to break with his party during the Iraq War, and would help bring the war in Afghanistan to an end while building the military we need for the future.

“He has been a champion for troops, veterans and military families through his service at the VA and USO, and his leadership on behalf of the post-9/11 G.I. Bill. The President knows him well, has traveled with him to Iraq and Afghanistan, trusts him, and believes he represents the proud tradition of a strong, bipartisan foreign policy in the United States.”

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The former Nebraska senator, widely considered a finalist to succeed Leon Panetta as secretary of defense, opposed James Hormel's nomination as U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg in the late 1990s because Hormel was "openly, aggressively gay."

Buzzfeed and the New York Times reported Thursday evening that in 1998, when Hormel's nomination was before the Senate, Hagel told a Nebraska newspaper that he had concerns about Hormel representing his country because of his sexuality.

“Ambassadorial posts are sensitive," Hagel told the Omaha World-Herald. "They are representing America," he said. "They are representing our lifestyle, our values, our standards. And I think it is an inhibiting factor to be gay — openly aggressively gay like Mr. Hormel — to do an effective job."

Conservatives in the Senate blocked a vote on Hormel's nomination; then-President Bill Clinton used a recess appointment to place him in the post.

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Pentagon press secretary George Little said Defense Secretary Leon Panetta signed a deployment order Friday en route to Turkey from Afghanistan.

The order calls for 400 US soldiers to operate two batteries of Patriots at undisclosed locations in Turkey, Little told reporters flying with Panetta.

Turkey is a founding member of NATO and requested that the alliance provide Patriots. They will be sent by NATO members Germany and the Netherlands as well as the U.S. for an undetermined period.

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Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta followed up the reports Thursday, noting "we are very concerned that as the opposition advances particularly on Damascus that the regime might very well consider the use of chemical weapons."

Chemical weapons have for the U.S. been an expressed "red line" in regards to Syria. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated previously that should Assad deploy chemical weapons against his people, "suffice to say we are certainly planning to take action.”

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Department spokesman George Little said the cuts would be "devastating to our national defense."

As the White House and members of Congress continue to wrangle over how best to find as much as $1.2 trillion in savings over the next 10 years to avert the fiscal cliff, Little said the Pentagon started more detailed discussions this week on how to slash 9.4 percent of its budget across the board.

He said cuts that deep could force the department to throw out its new military strategy, and cut weapons and technology programs, and it could hamper the department's ability to provide for its troops and their families.

He added that the department also is beginning to figure out how it will prepare and inform about 3 million military, civilian and contract workers about the cuts, if they occur.

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Panetta told reporters aboard his plane en route from Hawaii to Australia that Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has developed several options on a post-2014 presence.

Panetta also was asked about his future at the Pentagon. While he declined to reveal his plans, he suggested he still had work to do on the job he took in July 2011.

"It's no secret that at some point I'd like to get back to California," he said. Panetta is from Monterey, Calif.

He added that there are a number of important defense issues awaiting resolution, including a budget impasse and the future of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan — suggesting that he would not leave immediately.

"Right now, my goal is to basically meet my responsibilities with regard to dealing with those issues," Panetta said.

Pressed to say whether he would rule out staying for all four years of a second Obama term, he replied, "Who the hell knows?"

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As Salon reported, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta foregrounded the report's sentiments in an October speech in which he warned of a possible "cyber Pear Harbor," in which cyber-attacks could dismantle major aspects of U.S. infrastructure. Panetta specifically named China as a concern -- one echoed in the commission's report, which does, however, stress that most Chinese intrusions against U.S. government and military systems appear intended to collect intelligence or technology rather than launch attacks. Bloomberg reprinted passages of the report draft, illustrating that the commission sees China's ability to manage sophisticated computer systems as limited but growing, bolstered by a doggedness:

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It may sound like a scene from a zombie apocalypse movie or the first episode of NBC’s popular new show “Revolution,” but it could be your life -- a nationwide cyber-version of Ground Zero.

Think of it as 9/11/2015.  It’s Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta's vision of the future -- and if he’s right (or maybe even if he isn’t), you better wonder what the future holds for erstwhile American civil liberties, privacy, and constitutional protections.

Last week, Panetta addressed the Business Executives for National Security, an organization devoted to creating a robust public-private partnership in matters of national security. Standing inside the Intrepid, New York’s retired aircraft-carrier-cum-military-museum, he offered a hair-raising warning about an imminent and devastating cyber strike at the sinews of American life and wellbeing.

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Panetta said (via The New York Times):

An aggressor nation or extremist group could use these kinds of cyber tools to gain control of critical switches. They could derail passenger trains, or even more dangerous, derail passenger trains loaded with lethal chemicals. They could contaminate the water supply in major cities, or shut down the power grid across large parts of the country.

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