NAPLES, Italy — A Pentagon official has denied rumors that the U.S. Navy base in Naples will close, a day after media reports indicated the base was slated for the chopping block.

Pentagon spokeswoman Cmdr. Wendy Snyder said there are no discussions about closing the base.

The rumor spread in the Naples military community after Italian news agency ANSA quoted CNN host John King asserting that the base was a Cold War relic.

King had been interviewing Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who was discussing ways to cut military spending.

"[W]e will continue to look across the board where there may be wasteful spending," Snyder said. "This is a process and we are at the very beginning of that process. No decisions have been made."

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