Obama: US military can't secure the world

byJoel Gehrke Commentary Staff Writer



President Obama announced a new Defense Strategic Review at the Pentagon in an address that bookended military force reductions with a reminder of his foreign policy accomplishments, such as the killing of Osama bin Laden, and an assurance that defense spending will remain high, despite the recognition that the United States cannot secure the world.

"Meeting the challenges of our time cannot be the work of our military alone -- or the United States alone," Obama said this morning. "It requires all elements of our national power, working together in concert with our allies and our partners."

Obama said that "we’ll be able to ensure our security with smaller conventional ground forces" under the new strategy. "So, yes, our military will be leaner, but the world must know the United States is going to maintain our military superiority with armed forces that are agile, flexible and ready for the full range of contingencies and threats."

Careful not to appear soft on defense, Obama opened by recalling military successes over the last three years, including the signature killing of Osama bin Laden. "We’ve ended our war in Iraq," the president said. "We’ve decimated al Qaeda’s leadership. We’ve delivered justice to Osama bin Laden, and we’ve put that terrorist network on the path to defeat. We’ve made important progress in Afghanistan, and we’ve begun to transition so Afghans can assume more responsibility for their own security."

Obama concluded by pushing back against critics who might accuse him of gutting defense. "Over the next 10 years, the growth in the defense budget will slow, but the fact of the matter is this: It will still grow, because we have global responsibilities that demand our leadership," he maintained. "In fact, the defense budget will still be larger than it was toward the end of the Bush administration."