US 'Pivots' to Asia-Pacific

choi

My comment: The following all mentions the strategy document, where and where only China is mentioned.
Sustaining US Global Leadership: Prioroties for 21st Century Defense. US Department of Defense, January, 2012.
http://www.defense.gov/news/Defense_Strategic_Guidance.pdf

(1) Simon Tisdall, China Syndrome Dictates Barack Obama's Asia-Pacific Strategy; Obama has no wish to conjure the spectre of a new cold war but is determined to beat back any Chinese bid for hegemony. Guardian, Jan 6, 2012.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commen ... ategy?newsfeed=true

Quote:

Chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Martin Dempsey "understands that one day, however reluctantly, the US military may be obliged to overtly confront China just as it faced down the old Soviet Union.

"Beijing has yet to give a direct response. But the Global Times, an offshoot of the Communist party's People's Daily, swiftly made it clear China would be ready to match the US step for step, wherever that uncharted path might lead. 'Of course we want to prevent a new cold war with the United States, but at the same time, we must avoid giving up China's security presence in the neighbouring region,'

Note:
(a) Simon Tisdall. Guardian, undated.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/simontisdall
("Simon Tisdall is an assistant editor of the Guardian and a foreign affairs columnist")
(b) Mr William Hague is UK foreign secretary.
(c) Maghreb
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maghreb
(During Al-Andalus era in Spain, the Maghreb's inhabitants, Maghrebis, were known as "Moors" or simply as "Berbers";
Historical terms for the region are Barbary (in the early modern era); The term maghrib is in origin an Arabic word for "west, occident", denoting the westernmost territories that fell to the Islamic conquests of the 7th century)
(d) Sahel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahel
(The Arabic word sāḥil literally means "shore, coast", describing the appearance of the vegetation of the Sahel as a coastline delimiting the sand of the Sahara)

(2) Gopal Ratnam, Obama Defense Plan Presented as Diagnosis Without Prescription. Bloomberg, Jan 7, 2012.
http://www.businessweek.com/news ... t-prescription.html

Quote:

"The absence of details is like getting the 'diagnosis right, but it’s not sure what the prescription is or if they’ve the resources to fill the prescription,' Andrew Krepinevich, a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments in Washington, said in a telephone interview. 'This is strategy on an installment.'

"The main threat to U.S. naval forces in the Pacific come from Chinese submarines and missiles

"new strategic priorities will mean the US military posture in Europe will 'continue to adapt and evolve,' he [US defense secretary Leon Panetta] said. That evolution will include cutting to two from four the number of Army combat brigades stationed in Europe, UK Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said in an interview. The move, which will leave between 6,000 and 10,000 fewer American troops in position to deploy quickly to the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere, is 'not going to be welcomed by European allies in the alliance,' Hammond said.

Note:
(a) The analysis says chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said at the news conference with Panetta that "the strategy has 'real buy-in' from senior military officers."

"Buy in" as a verb (both vi and vt) and a noun (in the form of buy-in) have multiple definitions, particularly in the context of business *so it appears in business dictionaries, too). But none of the definitions is right in this context, except

buy-in
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/buy-in?rdfrom=Buy-in
("1. Support; agreement; approval; blessing (in a secular sense). <Let's show the idea around and get buy-in from marketing.>")

(b) drawdone (n; First Known Use 1918):
"1: a lowering of a water level (as in a reservoir)
2a : the process of depleting
b : REDUCTION"
www.m-w.com

(3) Geoff Dyer, Pentagon Focus on China and Mideast; Obama 'turning the page' on decade of war; Strategy shifts from Europe to Asia-Pacific. Financial Times, Jan 6, 2012 (front page).

Two consecutive paragraphs:

"While Mr Obama and other officilas did not mention China by name [in press conference], a strategy pager was more blunt in describing potential military threats from Beijing, at one stage listing it alongside Iran as one of the principal challenges.

"'States such as China and Iran will continue to pursue asymetric means to counter our power projections capabilities,' the document says. It also notes: 'Over the long-term China's emergence as a regional power will have the potential to affect the US economy and our security in a variety of ways.'

My comment: There is no need to read the rest.