Washington – One of the more politically sensitive prospects facing Congress in a potential government shutdown is whether US troops will continue to get their paychecks.
But on this point, the Pentagon has been mute, leading some to suggest that the Obama administration might be using the specter of the US military going without pay to pressure Republicans into a deal.
In response to a question about rumors that US troops at war will stop receiving their paychecks as of April 15, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Tuesday, “I don’t have a definitive answer … to relay to our forces in Iraq or Afghanistan.”
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“We have not been able yet to arrive at a conclusive determination about how everyone’s pay would be impacted by this,” Mr. Morrell told reporters in a briefing.
Pentagon officials say they cannot offer a definitive answer because they have not received guidance about which operations and personnel are essential – and therefore would continue to be funded in a shutdown. But critics note that the Pentagon has already offered assurances that operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, and Japan would not be affected.
Why would it not, then, know about troop pay, asks Tom Donnelly, director of the Center for Defense Studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.
READ MORE by MONITOR REPORTER MULRINE
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