Disruptive US back in business

In a rare appearance at the Pentagon, US President Barack Obama, along with Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin E. Dempsey, addressed a news conference on Jan 5 and unveiled a new defense strategy document, "Sustaining US Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense", indicating that a military strategy review is a matter of high concern for Washington.

The US is at a "moment of transition" after a decade of war, Obama has written in the introduction to the strategy, which calls for a cut in American defense budget and troops. But despite the fact that the American military will be "leaner", Obama said the US would maintain its "military superiority with armed forces that are agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats". Also, the US' defense budget would continue to be "larger than roughly the next 10 countries combined".

The strategic review says that as the American military continues to contribute to security globally, the US will rebalance itself toward the Asia-Pacific region and its military posture in Europe will "evolve". It also says that American armed forces should succeed in their primary missions such as fighting terrorism, seizing and demolishing weapons of mass destruction and, especially, enhancing the US' operating ability in environments where adversaries try to deny it access.