WASHINGTON, Apr. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Secretary of
Defense Robert Gates on Monday outlined a new vision of U.S. defense spending as
he announced the fiscal year 2010 defense budget plan that cuts funding for many
major weapon programs.
"If approved, these recommendations will profoundly
reform how this department does business," Gates told a press conference at
Pentagon.
He said his proposal represents a "budget crafted to
reshape the priorities of America's defense established."
The plan is part of the Obama administration's
ongoing efforts to reshape the U.S. military into a force better suited to
unconventional wars rather than being prepared for fighting large-scale
conventional wars.
Gates said one of the principal objectives of the
plan is that "we must rebalance this department's programs in order to
institutionalize and enhance our capabilities to fight the wars we are in today
and the scenarios we are most likely to face in the years ahead, while at the
same time providing a hedge against other risks and contingencies."
"In order to do this, we must reform how and what we
buy, meaning a fundamental overhaul of our approach to procurement, acquisition,
and contracting."
CUTTING TRADITIONAL
PROGRAMS
A number of expensive traditional programs will be
terminated under the proposal, including capping purchases of F-22 fighter jets
at 187 and canceling the VH-71 presidential helicopter program and a new Air
Force communication satellite program.
Gates said the Defense Department would complete its
contract for 183 F-22 fighters and add four more, bringing the total to
187,before stopping the purchases.
He recommends terminating the presidential helicopter
program because "it runs the risk of not delivering the required capability."
Gates also recommends canceling the Air Force's
Transformation Satellite Communication System program, which is intended to be a
constellation of five satellites and ground stations to provide data and message
services to ground forces throughout the world using laser beams.
He also calls for stopping the growth of the number
of Army Brigade Combat Teams (BCT) at 45.
The defense secretary also proposed delays in other
programs, including the CG-X next generation cruiser program as well as the
amphibious ship and sea-basing programs.
He also calls for restructuring the costly missile
defense program and the Army's future combat system program.
Gates also envisions to reduce the number of aircraft
carriers from 11 to 10 after 2040.
"ADDING
CAPABILITIES"
Besides the cuts, Gates also requested more money for
other programs that he believe will increase the U.S. military's
counterinsurgency capabilities.
"He will also be talking a lot about where we are
increasing funding for various capabilities that are important to the department
and to our national security," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters
before the press conference.
"Everybody seems to be focusing on that he (Gates) is
making cuts. He's going to be adding a lot of things to capabilities that we
need too," he said.
To shift focus to counter-insurgency operations,
Gates proposed more funding for special forces and intelligence gathering.
He recommends increasing intelligence, surveillance
and reconnaissance funding by 2 billion dollars, adding 500 million dollars to
field and sustain more helicopters, boosting global partnership capacity efforts
and increasing special operation personnel by more than 2,800 and buying more
aircraft for the special forces.
Gates also proposes to increase the purchase of
Littoral Combat Ships (LCS), seen as crucial to counterinsurgency operations in
coastal regions and to improve inter-theater lift capacity.
The Pentagon chief also recommends increasing funding
for some selected conventional weapon programs.
For example, he plans to buy more F-35 fighters in
fiscal year 2010, raising the F-35 budget from 6.8 billion U.S. dollars to 11.2
billion dollars.
SHIFT OF
FOCUS
Gates' proposal reflects the Obama administration's
bid to shift defense spending focus from preparations for large-scale
conventional war to counterinsurgency operations which the new U.S. government
thinks would likely to be top military challenges in coming decades.
Some analysts said it's the defense chief's "boldest
move" to reshape the priorities and capabilities of the U.S. military.
For the record, Gates has argued that the U.S.
military is still too oriented toward fighting a conventional war and hasn't
devoted enough resources toward preparing for irregular, low-intensity conflicts
that he sees continuing into the near future.
"These decisions represent a fundamental shift in
direction for the department," said Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell.
Another reason for the shift is the Obama
administration's intention to "rein in" rapid growth of defense spending over
the Bush years.
Driven by rising war costs, U.S. defense spending had
doubled during the tenure of former president George W. Bush and it accounts for
40 percent of the world's total military spending.
Obama said in February that he won't let the military
spending to grow "off hooks."
"We are going to continue to find savings in a way
that allows us to put the resources where they're needed, but to make sure that
we're not simply fattening defense contractors," he said when addressing the
defense budget issues on March 24.
In February, Obama proposed to the Congress an
overall price tag of 533.7 billion dollars for fiscal year 2010, a 4-percent
increase from that of fiscal year 2009.
Obama is due to send a detailed plan of the defense
budget proposal to the Congress next month and Gates' announcement before the
plan's submission is seen as a move to gain more political support for the
president's vision on defense spending.
However, whether the new administration's defense
budget proposal will be fully adopted by the Congress is unclear, since the
proposed cuts in major weapon programs will meet strong resistance from powerful
defense corporations and their lobbyists.
WASHINGTON, March 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack
Obama on Friday announced a comprehensive new strategy for Afghanistan and
Pakistan, including sending more troops to Afghanistan and providing new funds
for Pakistan.
"To achieve our goals, we need a stronger, smarter
and comprehensive strategy," said Obama at the White House, flanked by Secretary
of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Roberts Gates and National Security
Advisor James Jones. Full story
