U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Tuesday against budget cuts that could force an abrupt pullout of the U.S. security presence in the Pacific at a time when China's power is rising. She made this observation before officers in a joint appearance at the National Defense University with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. “We need to have a responsible conversation about how we are going to prepare ourselves for the future and there are a lot of issues that are not in the headlines but are in the trend lines,” Hillary Clinton said. “We are asserting our presence in the Pacific," Hillary Clinton said. “And we cannot be abruptly pulling back or pulling out when we know we face some long-term challenges.” The White House said military spending will fall by $350 billion in the first round of $917 billion in cuts, in line with Pentagon expectations.
