From George F. Will, the Washington Post:  The U.S. defense budget is about 43 percent of the world’s total military spending — more than the combined defense spending of the next 17 nations, many of which are U.S. allies.

From James Joyner, the New Atlanticist:  Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said all the right things about the transatlantic relationship at the Munich Security Conference. Alas, Panetta made a mockery of them on his way there.

From Gregge Jaffe, the Washington Post:  The Obama administration is considering nominating retired Lt. Gen. Douglas Lute as the next commander of the U.S.

From Barbara Starr and Adam Levine, CNN Security Clearance:  The United States and NATO want to end their combat mission in Afghanistan next year

From Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post:  The United States and NATO will seek to end their combat mission in Afghanistan next year and shift to a role of providing support and training to Afghan security forces

From Craig Whitlock, the Washington Post:  NATO allies are confronting a sustained weakening of the military alliance as ailing economies are forcing nearly all members, including the United States, to accelerate cuts to their defense bud

From the Editors of the Wall Street Journal:  French troops have proved their mettle against every adversary. Too bad their civilian masters don't always share the soldierly courage.

From John R. Deni, the New Atlanticist:  The recent announcement that the Obama administration plans to cut two of the four remaining US brigade combat teams (BCTs) in Europe came as no surprise to those tracking the ongoing debate over the future size of the American military and the Army in particular.