New US defense strategy centers on 'long war'

AFP
Friday, Aug 1, 2008

A new defense strategy released Thursday places the "long war" against extremism above potential conventional challenges from China and Russia as the top priority of the US military in the coming years.

"For the foreseeable future, winning the Long War against violent extremist movements will be the central objective of the US," the strategy paper said.

The document encapsulates a shift that has already been underway because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but one that has met resistance from some in the military who worry about sacrificing conventional US military supremacy.

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates defended the new strategy, saying it was an attempt to incorporate the lessons learned from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He said conventional weapons programs already account for the lion's share of the Pentagon's acquisition budget, but there is no political constituency supporting the new requirements for irregular and asymmetric warfare.

"The danger is not that modernization will be sacrificed to fund asymmetric capabilities, but rather that in the future we will again neglect the latter," he told reporters.

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