Commander in Chief (President) Obama has issued a new new military strategy that calls for involvement in fewer prolonged conflicts, reducing lower-priority forces and consolidating duplicate operations, according to a report released Thursday at a Pentagon press conference by President Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey.
The report, "Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense," is available at http://www.defense.gov/news/Defense_Strategic_Guidance.pdf.
The strategy that will guide decisions needed to trim $450 billion in defense spending through 2021.It calls for a leaner but more agile force and investments in special forces and additional technological innovations. The strategy shift will guide specific budget planning, which Pres. Obama and SecDef Panetta said would be announced in the coming weeks as part of the Administration's full budget request, reflecting spending cuts mandated by Congress.
"Spending has to be driven by strategy, not the other way around," Obama said, stressing that while growth in the defense budget will shrink, defense spending will still grow and will remain larger than it was when he took office in 2009.
SecDef Panetta said he has briefed key Congressional leaders on the new plan and feels "confident" that many of the proposals given the fiscal and security realities facing the country, but he expects resistance from some on Capitol Hill, saying that is part of making hard choices.
Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee Buck McKeon said, “The President has packaged our retreat from the world in the guise of a new strategy to mask his divestment of our military and national defense."
For more information
Read the strategy: http://www.defense.gov/news/Defense_Strategic_Guidance.pdf
Read the DoD press release: http://www.defense.gov/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=66683
Watch the President's remarks: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/StrategicR
Watch Secretary Panetta's remarks: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/DBr
Read Chmn. McKeon’s release: http://mckeon.house.gov/this_in_detail.aspx?NewsID=2013
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