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Amos: A Future of Perpetual War
Speaking at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., May 29, Amos said he is convinced that the U.S. military during the next two decades will be just as busy as it has been during the past 12 years of war. When asked to forecast the Marine Corps future missions, Amos said, I see much of what were going through right now. I dont see any of it waning away. I dont see major theater wars. I see thorny, difficult, challenging, human intensive not necessarily technology intensive conflicts.Amos cited the crisis in Syria, the activities of Lebanons Islamist group Hezbollah, developments in Iran, Iraq, Mali and North Korea as potentially requiring U.S. armed intervention over the coming years. Extremist groups continue to threaten the United States, Amos added. We may think we are done with them. But they are not necessarily done with us. The nation might be inclined to cut military spending, but You cant ignore the world I just described, Amos said. You cant turn your back on it. Amos vision of the future echoes the views of other military leaders who believe the post-Afghanistan era will be one of perpetual war. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, has said the military expects to be on a permanent war footing. Defense officials do not see the end of the Afghanistan war as the beginning of a peaceful era. The military chiefs worldviews, while not diametrically opposed to the one Obama laid out May 23, illustrate the challenge the administration faces as it tries to reshape national security priorities and comply with congressionally mandated budget cuts. Framing the debate over the future missions of the U.S. military is a defense budget crunch that will squeeze all branches of the armed services. Amos acknowledged that mandatory budget cuts, known as sequestration, are real, and not likely to go away. Nonetheless, he said, it is important for the military to maintain its global presence. The Marine Corps, for instance, will downsize from 202,000 to 182,000. It plans to redeploy forces that are currently in Afghanistan to the Asia-Pacific region. How that will be accomplished with less money remains to be seen. Analysts have criticized Pentagon officials for being unrealistic about what they can afford to do in the future. Amos said budget cuts will have real impact, but at the same time, there are engagement responsibilities our nation needs to acknowledge, he said. I am not in denial on sequestration [but] we do have global responsibilities." Posted by: Pappy 2013-06-01 |
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