European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 9, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday september 9, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 3 upheaval won t affect Dod budget 93 spending plan in place despite soviet collapse by the Baltimore Sun Washington a the . Military services say the dramatic collapse of the soviet Union and nearly non existent threat of global warfare against soviet forces will have virtually no effect on their proposed budgets for 1993. Although the services have already embarked on an extensive restructuring to Cut forces by 25 percent Over five years defense analysts warn that the military appears to be postponing painful budget decisions and risking drastic cuts brought on by mounting Federal deficits and lawmakers in search of a a peace  a the military a looking for trouble a said Steven Kosiak an analyst with the defense budget project a research group that has been critical of Pentagon spending priorities. Because of a budget Deal struck last year Between the Bush administration and Congress the 1993 defense budget will be As High As $291.5 billion but still nearly 4 percent less than the 1992 level after adjusting for inflation. The 1992 defense budget which needs congressional approval is expected to be $290.8 billion. Several military officials said last week that the services Are reluctant to consider deeper cuts for the 1993 budget year a which does not begin until october 1992 a without a clearer understanding of How the political changes in the soviet Union will affect that country a offensive military capabilities. They also asserted that for assorted bureaucratic reasons military planners could not easily rewrite major portions of the 1993 spending plan which Are already nearing completion. Each service has an oct. 15 deadline to submit its budget to Secretary of defense Dick Cheney who must Send final proposals to the White House by late december. A what happened in the soviet Union was so unexpected and so late in the process we re really marching on the same course in 1993, said chief warrant officer Randy Gaddo a Marine spokesman. A a it a too late to make adjustments even if we wanted  an  officer familiar with budget planning remarked a probably the big Chance to make changes will be in the 1994-95 budget submissions. The �?T93 budget will just be sort of an update of the �?T92 budget. A the  budget won t be whip sawed around by what happens every year a he added. As for Cheney there arc no signs that he will deviate from the Bush administration plan initiated last year to trim the military by 25 percent Over five years Cut troops in Europe roughly by half and restructure the forces to respond quickly to the events in the soviet Union a a done to change our fundamental assumptions about the nature of the soviet conventional threat in Europe or indeed about the possibility of the soviet strategic threat a Williams said. A we really Haven to seen much change in the capability of soviet military forces he said. Officials were not inclined to adjust the defense budget a the Way you would a what happened in the soviet Union was so unexpected and so late in the process we re really marching on the same course in 1993. Its too late to make adjustments even if we wanted  a chief warrant officer Randy Gaddo a Marine spokesman possible regional conflicts around the world. Cheney has banked heavily on new technology to give . Forces an Edge Over the larger soviet military. He has sought to cancel or Cut purchases of tanks combat aircraft and munitions to pay for strategic  a Star wars antimissile defences and the next generation of weapons systems including the b-2 stealth bomber ssn-21 sea Wolf submarine and the  a experimental Comanche Light helicopter. A a we be got an excellent strategy in place and we ought to stick to it Over the course of the next several years a Cheney told an audience Here late last month 10 Days after soviet hard liners launched an unsuccessful coup against soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev. A we have to take a Long term perspective in developing National Security policy a he said. A we cannot simply be in the business of responding to the developments of the  although top defense officials would continue to review . Security policy annually no review is anticipated in the near future and there Are no plans for a broader reassessment by the Bush administration Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams said. Bermuda prepares As Claudette nears Miami up a a Hurricane watch was in effect sunday for Bermuda As Claudette the second Hurricane of the 1991 Atlantic Caribbean season churned near the Island with 110-Mph winds. At 9 a.m., the Center of the Small but intense Hurricane was located about 165 Miles Southeast of Bermuda. The system was moving North at about 10 Mph. Maximum sustained winds dropped from 120 Mph overnight and More weakening was Likely As the Hurricane moved Over cooler Northern Waters said Bob sheets director of the National Hurricane Center. He said Bermuda was not expected to take a direct hit from Claudette. A the Center of the Hurricane could pass just to the East of Bermuda late tonight a he said. A Hurricane watch was issued saturday for Bermuda and sheets urged residents on the Island sunday to Monitor reports on Claudette in Case the watch had to be upgraded to a Hurricane warning. He said Bermuda was not expected to feel Hurricane Force winds because the storm was so Small that those gusts extended out Only 35 Miles from Claudette Scenter. Tropical storm Force winds reaching outward up to 115 Miles. Hurricane watchers also were watching a tropical depression the Atlantic Caribbean Hurricane seasons seventh about 730 Miles Southwest of the southernmost Cape verde islands. The depression was moving West at about 17 Mph with maximum sustained winds of 35 Mph and continued strengthening was expected. The first Hurricane of the season Bob ripped through the northeastern United states in August. It was blamed for 16 deaths from the Caroli Nas to Canada. Bob downed Power lines and Trees in Eastern Long Island including the fashionable Hampton which were left without Power for several Days at the end of the summer season. Manage a Stock portfolio by Reading the daily Stock quotations a Williams added. Army spokesman maj. Pete Keating said the last time senior defense officials. W _ gave the  any guidance for or car fens spending for 1993, he said might require sharper cuts in the 1993 defense budget than the military anticipates. The alternative would be draconian cuts in 1994 and 1995 that would bring on the Nightmare of Large scale involuntary discharges of career military personnel he said. While the budget Summit agreement capped 1993 defense spending it sets a ceiling Only on total Federal discretionary spending in 1994 and 1995, leaving it up to the president and Congress to decide How to parcel out the necessary cuts Between defense and Domestic programs to meet deficit reduction goals he said. A if you look at the Bush administrations defense plan for 1994 and 1995, you a have to take substantial cuts in non defense areas Quot Hale said. A co analysis this summer concluded that no defense programs including education health and welfare funding would have to be Cut by nearly 10 percent Over two years to provide All the Money it wants for defense in 1994 and 1995. Any Effort to protect Domestic spending would Send the a Down hard on the military so Congress might seek to soften the blow by cutting More deeply in do ing the 1993 budget was in May about the same period when the joint chiefs of staff made its last comprehensive assessment of worldwide threats to . Interests. No other High level instructions Are expected before Cheney gets the budget requests in october he said. Kosiak among several outside analysts acknowledged that the military is a already on a path toward making substantial reductions in Force Structure with a decline in defense spending by about 3 percent every year through 1996.�?� but he and others said pressures were clearly mounting for deeper cuts Long before soviet hard liners tried to seize Power in Moscow. Both the administration and Congress have been confronting newly revised estimates of a larger Federal budget deficit this year prompting questions Over whether to revisit the budget Summit Deal they made last year to limit Federal spending. Robert f. Hale a National Security analyst with the non partisan congressional budget office said last years budget Summit created a serious dilemma that a a we re going to be in trouble because of a real mismatch Between available funds and the production of new weapons a Kosiak observed. A it was already u Good idea to look at that and the changes in the soviet Union Only drive Home the Point More strongly that we should re examine the need for All the  the military has been counting on Many new expensive weapons to counter anticipated improvements in soviet radar defences aircraft submarines and other systems into the next Century. Before last months upheavals . Officials continued to justify the $75 billion b-2 bomber program a $60 billion tank modernization program and other expensive projects by telling lawmakers that the soviets would continue a a robust spending in strategic systems. Michael Brower of the Union of concerned scientists said such appeals were no longer credible. A if we see the dissolution of the soviet Union there a going to be a powerful argument that the entire cold War defense Structure is  Stone Arch in danger of falling Arches National Park Utah apr landscape Arch the longest Stone Arch in Arches National Park and one of the longest in the world May be in danger of collapsing Park officials said. At least three slabs fell from the 306-foot Span last week and officials expect More to Flake off soon. On sept. 1, several tourists saw a 60-foot-Long, 8-foot-wide and 4vi-foot-thick slab drop from the underside of the Arch near the Center of the Span the Park service said. A amazingly enough no one was injured a a Park service statement said. A the Arch was Only 16 feet at its thickest Point. With Avi feet less for support it must have seemed that barely anything was holding it  Park officials closed the Trail leading under the Arch. The tourists warned by popping cracking and snapping sounds caught the fall on film and videotape. They promised to mail copies to Park offices in Moab Park officials said. Park superintendent Noel Poe said two More slabs fell wednesday. And two additional pieces one about 12 feet Long Are expected to fall soon he said. A the Arch is still making popping noises As it adjusts to the loss of weight a Poe said. A this is quite unusual and to be honest we re at a loss As to How to explain it outside of the Normal erosion process a Poe said. 7 Hurt As Tornado hits Florida City fort Myers Fla. A a Tornado touched Down saturday night along this towns main Street causing minor damage to two dozen buildings and injuring seven people authorities said. Most of the injured people were hit by flying Glass and debris As the twister touched Down on . 41 shortly after 7 p.m., officials at Lee county a division of emergency management said. No one was seriously Hurt. Some of the injuries resulted when windows at a department store and a grocery store were blown out said David Saniter a spokesman for the county Agency. A was far As we know its just one Tornado a said police desk operator Anna Montilla. A we got Calls from All Over. It did hit the City pretty