viernes, 6 de enero de 2012

U.S. launches new military strategy focused on the Asia-Pacific

After a decade of being involved in two simultaneous wars, the U.S. announced its new defense strategy, which envisages a reduction in the number of troops, the overall objectives reorients the Asia-Pacific and, especially, brings down the bulkymilitary budget.
                                                             
"Our armed forces will be reduced, but the world must know that the U.S. maintain military superiority," said President Barack Obama yesterday in an appearance at the Pentagon.In his rare appearance in the Department of Defense, Obama emphasized that, since the terrorist attacks on America in September 2001, "the military budget has grown rapidly and is now greater than at the end of President George W. Bush" .Anticipating critics, made it clear that the country's military assignments remain greater than the sum of the ten nations that follow the amount of spending on defense.When you are about, Obama said, to "turn the page on a decade of war" in Iraq and Afghanistan, Pentagon spending must be reduced by about 487,000 million dollars in ten years, and that undoubtedly lead to forces armed "lighter" and "less conventional ground forces."In the case of the Army, the figure has come out in the media indicates that the troops would go from 570,000 to 490,000 within 10 years.As the emphasis of the new U.S. strategy now goes to the Asian region, and very in tune with the above, this allows to assume that U.S. military power will increasingly focus on naval and air components."We will strengthen our presence in the Asia-Pacific, and budget cuts will not occur at the expense of this critical region," Obama said, adding that the country will pay close attention to Middle East, denomination ranging from North Africa to Afghanistan .In the document entitled "Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities of Defense for the XXI Century", is mentioned directly the growth of China's military power as a cause for concern and suggests that it "must be accompanied by a great clarity of strategic intent to avoid causing frictions in the region. "The Chinese government has been building apace in recent years, submarines, destroyers, fighter jets and ballistic missiles, in a disturbing behavior to its neighbors, which in addition to territorial disputes with the Asian giant, are also closely allied with Washington, as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines.Military capabilitiesIn the same press conference where Obama spoke, the Pentagon chief, Leon Panetta said that the U.S. maintain its ability to "fight and defeat an enemy more than once." "The military presence in Europe will adapt and evolve" according to the new strategy.In Latin America and Africa, Washington "seek innovative ways" to maintain its presence and military programs.The U.S. defense budget -Which includes not only military spending but also espionage, weapons research and nuclear programs under the Department of Energy, grew from about $ 300 billion in 2000 to more than $ 700 billion in fiscal 2012 .Within this expenditure, nearly 20% has gone to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, undertaken while the Bush tax cuts, so the funding has been made at the expense of swelling the national debt.For over five decades, the fundamental principle of U.S. military strategy, and occupied also by Bush, has been the ability of its armed forces to address two major wars simultaneously.The new strategy behind this approach and would prefer a lower ability to deliver simultaneous conflicts. According to Obama, the Pentagon will reduce or eliminate some weapons programs and military structures, strengthening its operations and equipment for special forces, defense and space, particularly in cyberspace.The document also mentions the possibility of having smaller nuclear forces."The size and structure of our military and our military budget must respond to a strategy, not vice versa," stressed the President."We will continue doing away with antiquated systems of the Cold War, to invest in intelligence, counterterrorism, elimination of weapons of mass destruction, and the ability to operate where the opponents try to deny us access."

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