European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 21, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Tuesday May 21, 1991 the stars and stripes pit commentary Don . Will strengthen contingency forces after the sudden collapse of the soviet threat and a successful military operation in the persian Gulf the Bush administration i advancing a new strategy Tor maintaining Large scale . Military forces entering on what Pentagon officials Call a regional the new strategy whose outlines have emerged in recent presentations to Congress was foreshadowed in a speech by president Bush on aug. 2 a a speech whose message was overwhelmed by the iraqi invasion of Kuwait that same Day. Bush said then that As the United states Cut its military forces in coming years it would focus on preparing for. Regional threats a in whatever Corner of the Globe they May occur and move away from the traditional emphasis on a possible soviet attack in Europe. Constrained by planned troop reductions of 20 percent by 1995, the now strategy Quot will involve pulling Many . Military units out of Europe and Asia and closing some . Bases. At the same time the three senders Wilt be asked to strengthen a contingency forces based in the United states that can respond quickly to trouble spots anywhere in the world the administration and Congress appear to agree on the need to maintain Large Well armed and Mobile forces after the planned cuts. What remains to be decided Are More contentious issues against what threats and under what circumstances will these forces actually be use already a number of foreign leaders have expressed nervousness that the United states As the worlds Only remaining superpower will seek to use its unchecked clout in ways they would not Welcome. At Home a debate is beginning Over whether the United states can afford to intervene in future conflicts abroad unless it is backed by a Broad Public consensus and a Well heeled International coalition As was the Case in the Gulf r a 1 . Officials suggested in a series of re cent interviews that the potent reputation _ of american Miti taty Power May now Haye a enough deterrent effect to make its actual use less necessary. A in the new Era we arc the ones who can deter a said Gen Colin l. Powell chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. A we have Quot the overwhelming Power and we have demonstrated the willingness to use a s in the Post cold War Era however foreign1 threats to the United states Are proving More difficult to define. For nearly half a Century the United states was drawn into military conflicts a or paramilitary or Covert actions in the third world a largely because of a per j Cei Ved requirement to counter soviet a Carl Rowan Hong we Levitr m com to a Wii turns his attention torn icy. Yas Tivi ties or soviet aided clients. Today . Concern about a spread of it communism has sharply diminished. A a you be got to step aside from the context we be been using for the past 40 years that you base military planning against a specific threat a Powell said. A we no longer have the luxury of having a threat to plan for. What we plan for is that we re a superpower. We arc the Quot major player on the world stage with responsibilities around the world with interests around the world a. Asked whether . Forces would be More or less Likely to be ordered into Bat tie in v new o it he decline of a comprehensive j soviet threat Powell replied a a Haven to the foggiest i i done to know. That a the whole Point. We done to know like we used to4cnow.�?T\to Deal with this uncertainty tie United states plans to increase the size of its contingency Force s while shrinking the military Overall from about 2 million men and women under arms last year to 1.6 million in 1995. Before last August the army for example maintained in this country a three division contingency Force totalling about 50,000.,troops ready to be dispatched abroad. When All troops arc Back from the Gulf army officials said their part of the .-based contingency forces will total five divisions and about .85,000 troops. Five years from now after the military a downsizing program is completed the Pentagon expects still to maintain .-based fire brigade of four Mobile army divisions plus a slightly. Reduced Marine corps and Quot seven air Force fighter wings / describing the restructuring plan for the 1990s, army chief of staff Gen. Carl e. Vuono wrote recently that a the preponderance of the army will be based within the Continental United Stales and will be focused on the projection of land combat Power quickly and massively anywhere in the 1 not to be outdone a recent air Force presentation a global reach global Power declared that a this new world we Are rapidly moving into plays to air Force strengths a rapid deployable Long Range flexible and lethal , which can deter provide a tailored response or punch hard when a the closest the Pentagon has a a come to publicly military threats was the publication in March of the joint chiefs annual a military net assessment a which described itself As a a first report of the. Transition from planning and programming principally for global War with the soviet Union to planning and programming for tie a regional situations we expect to face in the 1990s.�?� specifically according to the report the emphasis in military planning has shifted to what the Pentagon Calls a major Regio n a i co n tinge these Are d divided into Eastern contingencies such As possible renewal of an iraqi military threat against Kuwait and saudi Arabia and what the joint chiefs Call Western contingencies such As a potential North korean attack on South Korea. The joint chiefs report indicated that More attention also is being devoted to counterinsurgency and county narcotics operations As Well As to Quot lesser regional contingencies Quot a meaning threats thatch uld occur r 2,000 m i to k t o 6,01 0 m i in s fro m u a. Shores and require . Intervention. Even in the Post cold War Era however a number of potential roadblocks stand in the Way of extensive use of . Military Power. Perhaps the most import. Tant is Quot the Cost .of.-intervention, Given a economic problems officials said. This was not a tact or in the persian Gulf War because . Allies were assessed for most of the Pentagon s out of pocket costs but that situation is. Likely to be a rarity in the future a recent Pituc Polmon poll by americans talk Security an Independent s u racy. Re sea re i v Orga n i a t i o 11, re to r t e d that a majority of americans 51 percent opposes the United states taking a the role where there Are problems in the world requiring a i lit a arid an overwhelming majority 78 percent believes a we can to afford to defend so Many a one of the reasons the Gulf operation was so successful was that its purposes were very Clear and it had Public support. That does no to translate into a Lank Cheek to go around the world using Force Quot said undersecretary of defense Paul a Wollowitz. Deputy National Security adviser Robert m. Gates who was nominated Hist week by Bush to head the Cia said the greatest constraint on use of military forces abroad is a a lesson Learned from Vietnam a every american politician. Thinks twice about gelling into a military con a in l wit it Arne Riean ground troops where you can it see your Way through to the end of it with High Assurance there is Only one possible Hitcome and within a reasonable Lime Powell As chairman of the joint chiefs has been a leading proponent of using military Power massively for Swift and certain Victory if it is to he used at All the a base Force concept that the joint., chiefs has designed for the . Military in the Post cold War Era Powell said is intended to provide lots of Fieri Bibity Ai lowing for numerous military responses. A when the phone Call conies you done to know what you re in you done to know whether it is a simple one a Ziajor one or if its going to Lead to a huge operation a Powell said. A a you re not a fortuneteller there it is suddenly you be got to make choices right then and -. A Tho Washington Post it. V Sununu not showing proper accountability in this Era of a amp a heists from the inside Wall Street so kindles and political frauds it May not seem to be a big Deal that White House chief of staff John Sununu let the government pay $14,000 to have a Mili tary Jet take him to Boston to Sec his Denist and then reimbursed Uncle Sam for $900. In a time when the air Force is pledging almost $100 billion for a new generation of fighter jets it May be hard to make a Federal Case out of Sununu costing the Quot Pentagon More than $8,000 for a plane to take him to a Republican party fund Raiser in new Hampshire with the gop reimbursing the government for Only $1,168. But the Sununu travel records Are chillingly revealing of the arrogant exploitation of Power at the highest Levels of government. A Sununu has Cost the government a half million dollars for , prestigious and very convenient travel covering his i Errice with piddling reimbursements because he has had the Power to do it. This is the White House Semi dictator who says the Federal govern a a revolution i shown proper tent won it spend More Money for a education because educators by Verf l. Quot Maccou a lability for the 1 funds they have Sununu showing accountability imagine the Gall of using a military Jet to go to a Republican fundraiser in Illinois the trip costing $6,464 and having the gop reimburse the government for $642. That is political Highway robbery that makes former House speaker Jim Wrights Book deals look Penny Ante. A the Bush administration has offered the lame claim that they be Only been following a policy that Ronald Reagan started in 1987 suggesting that his chief of staff and National Security advisor use military jets so he could always reach them on a secure Telephone. The first question is where Reagan got the right to order such abusive expenditures of Public funds. question is Why the Bush people would expect the pub lie to Swallow such an irrational excuse for Sununu using military jets to go to a dentist visit his parents or go on ski trips. A. When Sununu was going Down the ski slopes in Aspen last december lie Wasny to toting a a secure phone in. His Bools. He was less a a in. Touch with bus than he would Lulves been on a United a lines plane with its a unsecured phones it is patently ludicrous for Sununu to classify As a a official two ski trips that Cost the government $60,000, arguing that he went to speak to Meni lie is of the ski i and us t by. 11, is i laughable the a t he wants you and me to believe that he covered All ethical bases by reimbursing the government with $2,022 Lor his wife a travel expenses for eight a a years the Reagan policy was that the Rich and powerful could take All kinds of liberties and excesses As Long As they plastered a veneer of legality Over their abuses. Sununu apparently with George Bush a Blessing is extending the notion that Power Means taking want and never even having to say you re sorry. Al a can fit Afu Orica Syndicate / i
