Obama unveils new defence strategy with greater emphasis on Asia

President appears at Pentagon to announce plans for slimmed-down military as it prepares to absorb huge budget cuts
President Barack Obama at the Pentagon
Barack Obama hinted at a reduced US military presence in Europe. Photograph: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP

President Barack Obama put his personal stamp on a fresh Pentagon strategy for absorbing hundreds of billions of dollars in defence budget cuts, marking a turning point in US security policy after a decade of war.

In a rare appearance in the Pentagon press briefing room, the president announced that the military will be reshaped over time, with an emphasis on countering terrorism, maintaining a nuclear deterrent, protecting the US homeland, and "deterring and defeating aggression by any potential adversary".

Those are not new military missions, and Obama announced no new capabilities or defence initiatives. He described a US force that will retain much of its recent focus, with the exception of fighting a large-scale, prolonged conflict like the newly ended Iraq mission or the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

"As we end today's wars and reshape our armed forces, we will ensure that our military is agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies," Obama wrote in a preamble to the new strategy, titled Sustaining US Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense.

The strategy hints at a reduced US military presence in Europe, and says Asia will be a bigger priority. It also emphasises improving US capabilities in the areas of cyberwarfare and missile defence.

China is a particular worry to the Obama administration because of its economic dynamism and rapid defence buildup. A more immediate concern is Iran, not only for its threats to disrupt the flow of international oil but also for its nuclear ambitions.

Obama's decision to announce the strategy himself underscores the political dimension of Washington's debate over defence savings. The administration says smaller Pentagon budgets are a must, but insists they will not come at the cost of sapping the strength of a military in transition, even as it gets smaller.

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 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 represent a pivot point in his stewardship of defence policy, which has been burdened throughout his presidency by the wars he inherited and their drag on resources.

The new strategy moves the US further from its longstanding goal of being able to successfully fight two major regional wars at the same time.

The strategy document announced by Obama contained no specifics on the size of expected troop reductions; the army and marine corps already are set to shrink beginning in 2015. The document said the Pentagon will have to find savings in pay and health care benefits for members of the military, but it offered no specifics.


"Wholesale divestment of the capability to conduct any mission would be unwise, based on historical and projected uses of US military forces and our inability to predict the future," the document said.

The administration and Congress already are trimming defense spending to reflect the closeout of the Iraq war and the drawdown in Afghanistan. The massive $662bn defence budget planned for next year is $27bn less than Obama wanted, and $43bn less than Congress gave the Pentagon this year.

Appearing with Obama to answer reporters' questions about the strategy document were defence secretary Leon Panetta and the joint chiefs chairman, general Martin Dempsey. Panetta in recent months had previewed the main themes of the strategy by emphasising a need to continue pressuring al-Qaida and paying more attention to Asian security challenges, including China and North Korea.


The administration is in the final stages of deciding specific cuts in the 2013 budget, which Obama will submit to Congress next month. The strategy to be announced by Panetta and Dempsey is meant to accommodate about $489bn in cuts over the coming 10 years, as called for in a budget deal with Congress last summer. An additional $500bn in cuts may be required starting in January 2013.

A prominent theme of the Pentagon's new strategy is what Panetta has called a renewed commitment to security in the Asia-Pacific region.

The administration is not anticipating military conflict in Asia, but Panetta believes the US got so bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11 that it missed chances to improve its position in other regions.

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