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Troop Drawdown Could Yield Billions in DoD Savings
U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to redeploy 33,000 troops from Afghanistan by summer next year could save the Pentagon billions of dollars in operating costs in 2012 and beyond.
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What’s It Going to Cost Us to Bring the Troops Home?
Todd Harrison points out that "it's quite a logistical challenge, just to pick up and move a force that's been there for almost a decade. We're looking at not only transporting troops back, but dismantling, uprooting bases, packing up equipment and bringing all of that home. It could cost, you know, billions of dollars."
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Pentagon Crosses $1 Trillion Threshold In War On Terror Spending
The Pentagon says it has spent at least $1 trillion prosecuting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and defending the U.S. homeland, according to newly released Defense Department figures through April 30/.../
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A Soldier’s Soldier
Gen. Ray Odierno has been chosen to become Army chief of staff, to replace Gen. Martin Dempsey, who was nominated to be chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff/…/
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Interview with Jim Thomas: Challenging the Conventional Wisdom on US Traditional Alliances from Protectorates to Partnerships
America’s alliances are quite real, but they differ from a number of historical alliances in that the preponderance of military power was invested in the US military. The fragility of post-war economies in Europe and Northeast Asia limited what those states could do for their own defense, and led to their dependence on the US military to provide for their security. Consequently, they became to all intents and purposes protectorates of the US; that is, they became dependent on the US for their protection from the Soviet Union. What is troubling is that even in the aftermath of their economic recoveries and the dissolution of the Soviet empire, these states have not increased defense spending, but have in fact further reduced such spending and become even more dependent on the US to protect their interests, especially out of area.
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Panetta’s Excellent Pentagon Adventure: Cut Cash, Rewrite Strategy
CIA Director Leon Panetta knows what his overriding task will be as President Obama’s next defense secretary: cutting the defense budget down to size. No one needs to wait for his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday to hear about that. But defense analysts are itching to hear how Panetta will adjust U.S. defense strategy to make the impending budget cuts make sense/…/