1 - 3 of 3
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
2. The Pentagon's New Mission Set: A Sustainable Choice?
- Author:
- Carl Conetta
- Publication Date:
- 10-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Project on Defense Alternatives
- Abstract:
- Today, the United States enjoys an abundance of military power, but it is a uniquely expensive asset. During the past 20 years we have sought new ways to put this asset to work. Reviewing the change in the Pentagon's mission set, several broad trends are discernible: Mission objectives have grown much more ambitious, generally. The geographic scope for intensive US military efforts has widened significantly. Across the globe, the focus of US military action and investment has become less discriminate and more sweeping or comprehensive. Missions that put US “boots on the ground” in foreign nations in either a direct action, advisory, or capacity- building role have grown much more prominent. US policy continues to emphasize multinational approaches to addressing security issues, however the trend has been for the United States to play an ever more prominent role as the convener, governor, and quartermaster of joint action.
- Topic:
- Security, Defense Policy, and Debt
- Political Geography:
- United States
3. Pentagon cuts in context: No reason for "doomsday" hysteria
- Author:
- Carl Conetta
- Publication Date:
- 10-2011
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Project on Defense Alternatives
- Abstract:
- Recent Obama administration defense budget requests and proposals all fall within a narrow range of possible expenditures for the 2013-2023 period. All have kept the Pentagon's base budget above Cold War spending peaks. The President's 13 April proposal is no exception. It is a modest step that, at best, aims to retract future budget plans by 6.5 percent or $400 billion. The resulting average annual Pentagon base budget f or 2013-2023 would be close to today's level in real terms. The President's slice into non-security discretionary spending plans is audacious by comparison, reversing the proportionately suggested by his Fiscal Commission, and increasing the proportion of discretionary spending allocated to the Pentagon. The President's proposed new constraints on Pentagon budget growth hardly risk America's role in the world, as some contend, and by themselves do not necessitate a strategic review. Still, the President's launch of a such a review is a welcome development. It can help return America' s military posture to a reasonable and sustainable footing – provided that it elicits broad debate, solicits alternative viewpoints, and reaches beyond a $400 billion crease in the Pentagon's future budget plans.
- Topic:
- Defense Policy, Cold War, and Debt
- Political Geography:
- United States and America