05-01-12 Pentagon to unveil new US defence priorities

The Obama administration is rewriting its defence strategy to absorb hundreds of billions of dollars in US defence budget cuts while scaling back the longstanding Pentagon goal of being ready to fight two wars simultaneously.Underscoring the political dimension of Washington's debate over defence savings,President Barack Obama planned to make a rare appearance at the Pentagon on Thursday to outline the new strategy.The administration says tighter budgets are a must but will not come at the cost of sapping the strength of a military in transition after a decade at war.In a presidential election year,the strategy gives Obama a rhetorical tool to defend his Pentagon budget-cutting choices.Republican contenders for the White House already have criticised Obama,who is running for a second term,on a wide range of national security issues,including missile defence,Iran and planned reductions in ground forces.Obama also wants the new strategy to mark a turning point in his stewardship of defence policy,which has been burdened throughout his presidency by the wars he inherited and their drag on the budget.The strategy,to be outlined at a news conference also attended by Leon Panetta,the defence secretary,and the joint chiefs chairman,General Martin Dempsey,is not expected to radically alter defence priorities.It may set the stage,however,for expected cutbacks in Europe and big weapons programmes.It also will move the US further from its longstanding goal of being able to successfully fight two major regional wars,like the 1991 Gulf War to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait or a prospective ground war in Korea at the same time.This takes into account a bigger focus on immediate threats like cyber warfare and terrorism.The administration and congress already are trimming defence spending to reflect the closeout of the Iraq war and the drawdown in Afghanistan.The 662bn defence budget planned for next year is $27bn less than Obama wanted and $43bn less than congress gave the Pentagon this year.