Washington, D.C. ? The defense intelligence community is combing its budgets to figure out where to cut 10 percent of its contractors as part of Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ drive to reduce costs in the Pentagon.

Defense officials told staffers on Capitol Hill that they expect a similar review to be carried out “for the broader intelligence community,” according to a congressional staffer who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private briefing.

White House officials from the Obama and the Bush administrations tried to get rampant spending on contractors under control after the post-Sept. 11 surge to hire contractors to meet the demands of fighting terrorism and extremism.

More than 50 percent of the current intelligence work force was hired after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to the Office of the Director for National Intelligence. Several U.S. officials contacted by The Associated Press said they could not estimate the savings or the number of contractors who could lose their jobs under the proposed budget cuts.

What’s also not clear is how much any budget cutting would affect intelligence work or overlap with reductions that were already under way. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the budget analysis was ongoing.