Thursday, January 5, 2012

Obama "keeping faith with our troops": Slashing Military budgets

The budget knives continue to whack away at the US Military Budget. From the DoD:

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2012 – President Barack Obama today announced a defense strategy he said will allow the military to defend the United States and its national interests while cutting military spending in a responsible, balanced manner.

The president spoke about the conclusions of the defense strategy review at the Pentagon briefing room today.

The strategy review’s bottom line is that the United States armed forces will remain the pre-eminent military force in the world, the president said in a letter attached to the review.

White House and Pentagon planners will use the strategy to fund the budget Obama will submit to Congress in February. The strategy will lead to more than $450 billion in defense cuts over the next 10 years.

“As commander in chief, I am determined that we meet the challenges of this moment responsibly and that we emerge even stronger in a manner that preserves American global leadership, maintains our military superiority and keeps faith with our troops, military families and veterans,” Obama said.

The president stressed that this is a moment of transition for the military; after 10 years of war, he said, now is the time to make these changes. He pointed to successes against al-Qaida -- including killing Osama bin Laden -- as well as the withdrawal from Iraq and the beginning of the turnover of areas in Afghanistan to Afghan control as signs that the sacrifices American soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen and civilians are having an effect.

As the conflicts end, the U.S. military will regroup and focus on broader challenges, especially as they pertain to the Asia-Pacific region, the president said. Obama had vowed to shift the focus during a trip to the region last year....



There is much more here. Pay attention, and watch for our Veterans to give a real analysis of what this all means for the Troops and America.

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