NATO allies grapple with shrinking defense budgets

01/30/12: The Washington Post reports that 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 budgets at the same time.The Pentagon’s recent decision to eliminate two of the Army's four brigades in Europe is the latest blow to NATO’s military capabilities. It extends a year of grim announcements from members of the alliance that they can no longer afford their security commitments and that a long period of austerity is in the offing.