Obama's Leaner, Meaner Military

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http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/01/obama-military-budget-cuts

In an announcement long on ambition and short on specifics, President Obama and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta rolled out a new national security strategy Thursday that aims to drastically downsize the military. "[W]e have the opportunity and the responsibility to look ahead to the force we need for the future," the president said. His plan, "Sustaining US Global Leadership," aims to slash troops, fighter jets, and $450 million from the Pentagon bureaucracy. "Whenever possible, we will develop innovative, low-cost, and small-footprint approaches to achieve our security objectives," the 16-page plan states.

If the strategy takes hold—and that's hardly a given, considering how heavily the defense industry lobbies Congress—progressives may like a lot of what they see in the military's newer, leaner look. Still, the plan leaves open the possibility that drones, contractors, and reservists will take over any gaps left in the mammoth, post-9/11 national security complex.

The strategy continues to focus on some perennial areas, like combating Al Qaeda, tracking WMDs, and maintaining a big presence in the Middle East (i.e. around Iran). But its updates would be significant:


* Nukes: Cuts to the country's bloated nuclear weapons complex could become a reality: "It is possible that our deterrence goals can be achieved with a smaller nuclear force, which would reduce the number of nuclear weapons in our inventory as well as their role in U.S. national security strategy."



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