Sugarcane
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The US military is to shift its focus from troops to technologies, Barack Obama has declared. The return of Cold War priorities clearly shows who the winner was in the fight for the shrinking US budget, says RTs military analyst, Evgeny Khrushchev.
*President Obamas plan for the Department of Defense, announced on Thursday, calls for a reduction in ground forces now that al-Qaedas leadership has been decimated. The new priorities will be improved surveillance and cyber warfare capability, alongside enhanced special forces operations.
The new strategy is not driven by the White Houses vision of national security, argues RTs Evgeny Khrushchev. It is a result of ferocious and intense lobbying by the US military industrial complex.
There are two losers: the US army and Marine Corps. US military contractors are the main winners in this new war for the shrinking US budget. The military industrial complex will be the main beneficiary of the troops downsizing and extension of the militarys big ticket high tech items, says the military analyst.
*
Forget Afghanistan, its China now
In other words, this new scenario means no more and no less than a classic Cold War arms race which will cost zillions of dollars, says Khrushchev. But this time it will be waged against an imaginary, perceived threat from China.
Americas so called soft power strategy failed in Iraq, where the situation deteriorated within 24 hours of the last American troops being withdrawn. The US officially agreeing to allow the Taliban to set up an office in Qatar is by default an admission of its failure in Afghanistan and Pakistan as well, according to Khrushchev.
This explains the new strategys shift from Central and South-East Asia to the Asia Pacific region, continues the analyst. This is why Iraq and Afghanistans low-intensity counter-insurgency will be replaced by a China-focused high-tech military threat projection.
But at the end of the day, the new policy will emerge as all too familiar, points out Khrushchev. It was the same low-footprint, high-tech strategy with which the US opened up hostilities in Afghanistan in an operation entitled Enduring Freedom more than 10 years ago.
Pentagon reload:
*President Obamas plan for the Department of Defense, announced on Thursday, calls for a reduction in ground forces now that al-Qaedas leadership has been decimated. The new priorities will be improved surveillance and cyber warfare capability, alongside enhanced special forces operations.
The new strategy is not driven by the White Houses vision of national security, argues RTs Evgeny Khrushchev. It is a result of ferocious and intense lobbying by the US military industrial complex.
There are two losers: the US army and Marine Corps. US military contractors are the main winners in this new war for the shrinking US budget. The military industrial complex will be the main beneficiary of the troops downsizing and extension of the militarys big ticket high tech items, says the military analyst.
*
Forget Afghanistan, its China now
In other words, this new scenario means no more and no less than a classic Cold War arms race which will cost zillions of dollars, says Khrushchev. But this time it will be waged against an imaginary, perceived threat from China.
Americas so called soft power strategy failed in Iraq, where the situation deteriorated within 24 hours of the last American troops being withdrawn. The US officially agreeing to allow the Taliban to set up an office in Qatar is by default an admission of its failure in Afghanistan and Pakistan as well, according to Khrushchev.
This explains the new strategys shift from Central and South-East Asia to the Asia Pacific region, continues the analyst. This is why Iraq and Afghanistans low-intensity counter-insurgency will be replaced by a China-focused high-tech military threat projection.
But at the end of the day, the new policy will emerge as all too familiar, points out Khrushchev. It was the same low-footprint, high-tech strategy with which the US opened up hostilities in Afghanistan in an operation entitled Enduring Freedom more than 10 years ago.
Pentagon reload:
