- WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama is putting his personal stamp on a rejiggered Pentagon strategy for absorbing hundreds of billions of dollars in defense budget cuts, marking a turning point in US security policy after a decade of war.
Obama planned to make a rare appearance in the Pentagon press briefing room Thursday to announce results of a strategy review that he ordered last spring. No radical changes are expected.
Among the shifts: more US focus on Asia and less on Europe.
Obama’s decision to announce the results himself underscores the political dimension of Washington’s debate over defense savings. The administration says smaller Pentagon budgets are a must but will not come at the cost of sapping the strength of a military in transition even as it gets smaller.