Obama's Defense Blind Spots

The release of President Barack Obama’s strategic guidance to the Department of Defense on Jan. 5 has already unleashed a storm of commentary. The final document, “Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense,” was prepared after months of consultations with the national security team and senior military leaders, and is a first attempt to begin prioritizing both defense missions as well as geographic regions that are most vital to U.S. interests. The guidance puts a premium on what might be termed “expeditionary firepower” -- naval and air assets capable of projecting power over a wide area -- and focuses on the Asia-Pacific region as being the part of the world where the United States ought to concentrate its defense assets and attention, followed by the Middle East. At the same time, “long-term stabilization operations,” meaning large-scale interventions with ground forces meant not only to remove a threat but to transform a country, are being downgraded, and the increased focus on the Asian theater will come about by drawing away resources currently earmarked for U.S. defense activities in other parts of the world.