Dive summary:

• The Jan. 1 budget whirl resulted in permanent tax cuts but only temporary delays in mandatory spending cuts, and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is making public what he will do with Pentagon spending if Congress cannot stay the ax again.
• The huge defense construction program will take a hit as Panetta seeks to protect operating military units, and furloughs for civilian workers are a possibility as well.
• Panetta said he was making the plans public so that Congress would know what will happen if accords are not reached on several looking budget issues.

From the article:

"The fact is, looking at all three of those, we have no idea what the hell's going to happen," Panetta said. ...