Strategy in a Year of Fiscal Uncertainty

In January, the administration unveiled its new strategic guidance, Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for the 21st Century. It places a greater focus on the Western Pacific and emphasizes air and sea capabilities. It is driven, at least in part, by the budget constraints placed on the Pentagon in the Budget Control Act of 2011. A better measure of the Pentagon’s new strategy, however, is not the policy statements contained in this document but rather the real choices it makes in how resources are allocated. The President’s FY 2013 budget request, to be released in a few days, will provide greater insight into the Pentagon’s strategic choices.