Panetta said he planned on continuing Gates’ work at cutting Pentagon spending on programs that aren’t necessary while maintaining the country’s military strength. “Today we are a nation at war. And job one will be to ensure that we remain the strongest military power in the world to protect that security that is so important to this country,” he said. “Yet this is also a time for hard choices.” He added, “It’s also about being able to be strong and disciplined in applying our nation’s limited resources to defending America.”