Saya selalu teringat buku Claude Le Borgne yang berjudul "La guerre est morte"
(Perang itu sudah mati - maksudnya sudah tidak ada gunanya lagi)..
Sebabnya?
Karena perang itu mahal...
--
BBC News US & Canada
5 January 2012 Last updated at 12:20 GMT
Pentagon military review 'will axe US troops'
Comments (63)
The US is to axe thousands of troops as part of a far-reaching defence review
aimed at coping with huge budget cuts over the next decade, officials say.
The changes - to be unveiled on Thursday - are likely to end a decades-old
policy of maintaining the strength to fight two wars at once.
President Barack Obama will announce the plans with Defence Secretary Leon
Panetta at the Pentagon on Thursday.
The Pentagon faces more than $450bn (£288bn) in cuts in the next 10 years.
Another $500bn in cuts could be looming at the beginning of 2013, after a
congressional committee failed to act on finding budget savings last year.
Despite this Mr Obama, wary of the upcoming presidential election, is expected
to emphasise that the US military budget is continuing to grow, albeit at a
slower pace.
US officials have sought to portray the president as taking a deliberate
approach to defence spending, insisting any troop reductions will be informed
by a review of strategy by commanders.
White House spokesman Jay Carney described the planned cuts as "surgical". The
president is also reported to have been closely involved in the decision-making
process.
No specific cuts or troop reduction figures will be announced on Thursday,
reports say, but the White House said the review "will guide our budget
priorities and decisions going forward".
Reuters news agency says officials are considering a 10-15% reduction in the US
Army and Marine Corps over 10 years - equivalent to tens of thousands of troops.
Future in Asia
The US is expected to make several large long-term strategic changes as a
result of budget pressures, including reducing the overall number of ground
troops and strengthening air and naval power in Asia.
BBC diplomatic correspondent Jonathan Marcus says more US troops are likely to
be brought home from Europe.
Our correspondent says the focus for the future looks to be on what the
Pentagon calls "the Air-Sea Battle" - the creation of forces capable of
containing a rising military player in the Asia-Pacific region. He says it is
clearly China that the US officials are thinking of.
Defence Secretary Leon Panetta made clear last autumn that Asia would be
central to US security strategy, including countering China's influence in the
region, describing the Pacific as a "key priority".
Backing away from a potential two-war footing has been debated in the Pentagon
for years.
In June 2001, then-Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Congress the two-war
strategy was "not working".
And when the US was in fact fighting two wars - in Iraq and Afghanistan - the
military suffered a shortage of manpower.
The expected change in strategy would prepare the US to fight one war while
waging a holding operation elsewhere to "spoil" a second threat.
Officials say they are using recent examples to guide their decisions.
"As Libya showed, you don't necessarily have to have boots on the ground all
the time," an unnamed official told Reuters. "We are refining our strategy to
something that is more realistic."
Yet many of the Nato allies in Libya are facing similarly tight defence
budgets, and Mr Obama is likely to face criticism from defence hawks in
Congress, including Republicans and those seeking to challenge him for the
presidency in November.
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+1
Comment number 15.
LowMaintenanceLifestyles
3 Hours ago
Does this result from a recognition that the balance of world powers is
rapidly changing? And a recognition also that mere force can no longer acheive
what it once did? And that it's the economy stupid?
Will the US in future no longer be the world's policeman?
Overall, but no doubt with notable exceptions to come, I'd say this is a
very good thing.
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+4
Comment number 14.
sasss31
3 Hours ago
I think that the key thing to remember is that with enhanced technology
such as the use of drones and future robotic technology, it will simply be
safer and more wise to use the technology afforded to us while simultaneously
supporting local populations. The article cited Libya as an example but I will
add: once the liberation of Iran is called upon, we simply need to support the
Iranian people.
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+5
Comment number 9.
Duncan1815
4 Hours ago
A 15% cut will hardly effect USA response capabilites around the world. I
would like to point out that the Pacific has always been the priority for
America and I doubt we will see any significant change in the balance of Power.
Moreover, America repeatedly tried to reduce its military presence in Europe in
the 1960s/70s but was met with oppostion from these States.
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+2
Comment number 1.
LUFC_FR
5 Hours ago
Good, now perhaps their services can be used as builders rather than
destroyers and go back and rebuild the countries they've "bombed back to the
stoneage".
And their employers be dragged to the ICC for crimes against humanity.
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