Israel's military strength declines '30 percent'

TEL AVIV — Israel's military, hampered by a budget shortfull, has suspended major programs in the army and navy.

"With the [current] defense budget, we are scratching the bottom," former Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh, a Labor Party Knesset member, said. "Our [military] strength over the last three to four years has declined by 30 percent as a result of cuts in the budget. If we don't preserve our military superiority, we won't be here." Read on.