Posted on 01/28/2010 9:47:11 PM PST by Jet Jaguar
Inside Defense got a leaked draft copy of the forthcoming Quadrennial Defense Review. The national security planning document, being spearheaded by Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy, shapes U.S. defense posture around the globe for the next several years.
The draft dates from December 3. The QDR is expected to be released on Monday.
The headline is that the forthcoming draft QDR scraps the 2-major war posture construct of the past decade. But it's hard to crisply explain what it moves to, except greater complexity.
As Inside Defense's Jason Sherman notes (sub. only):
The Defense Department is abandoning an explicit requirement to be able to simultaneously fight two major conventional wars -- a keystone of defense planning since the fall of the Soviet Union -- in order to prepare the services for a wider and more complex array of security challenges, according to Pentagon officials.
Specifically, the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review -- due to be unveiled next week -- will not include a force planning construct that quantifies the number and type of contingencies for which the U.S. military must prepare, removing a formula the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines have relied on since the end of the Cold War to justify their force structures and their investment plans.
“It is not going to have the simplicity of a '1-4-2-1' or the 'Michelin Man,'” said one Pentagon official, referring to nomenclature Pentagon officials assigned to previous force planning constructs. The new construct at the center of the Defense Department's forthcoming review will not be overtly stated, the official said: “It is not going to have a visual, it is not going to have a graphic, it is not going to have a rubric because it is complicated.” ...
This paradigm shift does not mean the Defense Department is shedding capabilities needed for such large-scale engagements. Rather, it codifies that DOD is broadening its operational plans -- and the range of investments necessary to execute them -- to deal with a more diverse portfolio of contingencies. ....
A defense analyst involved in the previous QDR remarks on the leaked draft:
*The previous Defense Strategy used a four dimensional framework (Assure, Dissuade, Deter, Defeat), while this one uses Prevail, Prevent/Deter, Prepare, Preserve/Enhance. The Administration has essentially kept the "deter" and "defeat" aspects of the old strategy but replaced "dissuade" with "prevail" and "assure allies" with "preserve the force." This is an interesting commentary on how the wars in Iraq/Afghanistan have forced the Department to focus more on getting its own house in order than influencing the external environment.
*Cyberspace operations are a separate priority from "deter and defeat aggression" and "defend the United States."
*In general, this review is focused on internal institutional issues rather than changes in the external environment (unlike the 2006 QDR). Michele Flournoy's critique of the 2006 version ("Did the Pentagon Get the Quadrennial Defense" ...) set the stage for this change by arguing that the Department was not addressing institutional risk.
it codifies that DOD is broadening its operational plans — and the range of investments necessary to execute them — to deal with a more diverse portfolio of contingencies. ....
Like more “Meals on Wheels” around the world????
Chicoms are pleased
Chicoms are pleased
The Chinese probably downloaded this before it was leaked!
FARS, were you looking for this?
Wonder if there is anything in there regarding “A Civilian Army?
Of course much more will be brought out soon. I hate to jump on some suspect weak point and make a big deal out of it until we see the whole review set forth and opportunities be given to a range of experts to give their opinions.
I’m still choking on the videos of Obama’s little ‘visit’ to the Republican House members today...they should have shouted ‘you lie’ in chorus.
Apparently the tactic now is to try the phrase ‘the Party of NO’.
They just don’t get it! All the Indies will be delighted to wear such a phrase on their new tee-shirts!
Oooh heck....their just trying to be folksy.
the forthcoming Quadrennial Defense Review... being spearheaded by Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy...And thanks Jet Jaguar for the topic.
> The headline is that the forthcoming draft QDR scraps the
> 2-major war posture construct of the past decade
The 2-major war posture evolved immediately after (if not
during) WWII. Obviously for good reason after warring with
Germany and Japan ...
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