Obama to shrink armed forces

President Obama went to the Pentagon on Thursday to announce a military strategy that will usher in the largest defense cuts since the Cold War’s end and reduce the active force’s ability to carry out large land wars.
The strategy envisions different ways to deal with aggressors that rely more on special operations and counterterrorism, air and sea power, and building up and training foreign militaries.
If a lengthy, large ground operation is needed as well as an occupation, reserves would be mobilized, officials said.
“As we look beyond the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the end of long-term nation-building with large military footprints, we’ll be able to ensure our security with smaller conventional ground forces,” Mr. Obama said, noting that his briefing at the Pentagon was a first for a president.
In trumpeting the blueprint, “Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership,” Mr. Obama said: “Our military will be leaner, but the world must know the United States is going to maintain our military superiority with armed forces that are agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats.”
The strategy, coupled with the fiscal 2013 budget coming next month, will shrink Army and Marine Corps ground forces, delay big-weapon production, and shift the U.S. global focus from Europe to the Middle East and Asia.
The reductions stem directly from a bipartisan budget law the Pentagon says will slash $487 billion in the next 10 years.
Not addressed was the next drama: The military faces another $500 billion in automatic cuts unless Congress reaches a deal this year to head off a process that Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta has warned will produce a “hollow” force.
Washington Times