-Caveat Lector-
Friday March 23 3:55 PM ET
Defense Secretary Outlines Military Overhaul
By Charles Aldinger
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has signaled to
President George W. Bush (news - web sites) his intention to press dramatic
changes in U.S. military strategy with increased emphasis toward Asia,
senior defense and administration officials said on Friday.
The officials, who asked not to be identified, confirmed a Washington Post
report that Rumsfeld outlined broad shifts away from Cold War planning for a
major war in Europe during a White House meeting on Wednesday.
But the officials stressed in interviews with Reuters that Rumsfeld had made
no decisions yet on pending U.S. weapons programs and had not made any arms
recommendations to Bush at a meeting attended by representatives of the
Defense and State Departments and the National Security Council.
The president, they said, agreed with the thrust of Rumsfeld's emphasis on
China's growing military and economic importance and on all of Asia.
``He (Rumsfeld) did not make any recommendations or discuss weapons in
detail. But the secretary made clear that China and Asia -- and the
distances involved there -- are looming ever larger on our radar. That will
obviously make (arms) changes necessary,'' one of the administration
officials told Reuters.
SMALLER AIRCRAFT CARRIERS, BOMBERS?
The Post, quoting senior government officials, said a sweeping defense
review being conducted by Rumsfeld on orders from Bush was likely to lead to
a recommendation to build smaller Navy aircraft carriers that might be less
vulnerable to new missiles and to put more emphasis on radar-avoiding,
long-range bombers such as the batwing B-2 for power projection in Asia.
``The secretary has not received any detailed briefings on specific weapons
programs yet,'' one senior defense official told Reuters in response to
questions. ``His reasoning is 'First-things-first -- and first comes
strategy -- followed by the weapons to carry it out,''' the official said.
The top-to-bottom review of strategy and arms is aimed at moving the
cumbersome Cold War U.S. military away from a decades-long thrust toward
all-out war with the former Soviet Union toward threats posed by high-tech
arms proliferation in the 21st century.
The Post quoted officials close to the defense study as saying that it will
lead to a shift away from the current Pentagon (news - web sites) strategy
of being prepared to fight two major wars -- perhaps in Korea and the
Gulf -- virtually simultaneously.
The newspaper said the review also could lead to buying a smaller number of
planned F-22 fighter jets for the Air Force.
Dueling Fighter Programs
The service is currently planning to buy 340 of the F-22 air-superiority
jets from Lockheed Martin Corp at a cost of more than $60 billion. But
critics say the short-range jet would not be effective in Asia, where
distances are great and the United States has few bases.
Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. are also vying for a contract to build
up to 3,000 or more planned Joint Strike Fighters for the U.S. Air Force,
Navy and Marine Corps and Britain's Royal Navy.
Britain has committed $2 billion to the JSF program, which is also under
review by the new administration, and Italy and other allied countries are
interested in the fighter.
Rumsfeld refused on Wednesday to predict whether or not the JSF might go
ahead despite a ringing endorsement of the fighter from visiting British
Defense Minister Geoffrey Hoon.
Bush has proposed a $310.5 billion military budget for 2002 but has said he
would decide whether to increase defense spending after Rumsfeld's Pentagon
review.
Sources cited by the Washington Post said the Pentagon review was likely to
push the Air Force toward spending more on long-range bombers such as the
B-2, built by Northrop Grumman Corp .
The Air Force currently has a fleet of 21 of the bombers, which flew round
trip nonstop from the United States to bomb Serbia during NATO (news - web
sites)'s air war against Belgrade two years ago.
Some members of Congress have been pressing the Pentagon to buy more of the
stealthy bombers.
Sec. 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a
copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or
phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes
such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple
copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement
of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any
particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include -
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a
commercial nature or is for nonprofit
educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the
copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the
copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a
finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the
above factors.
<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis-
directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with
major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought.
That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.
Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
<A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
<A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Om
