Afghan, Iraq wars shape Pentagon budget, US strategy

[David]

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The Obama administration plans to unveil a defense budget on Monday that pours billions into drones, helicopters and special forces, reflecting a focus on fighting Islamist extremists rather than conventional armies.

The Pentagon's spending priorities as well as its strategic vision -- which is also due to be unveiled this week -- are a product of the counter-insurgency campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan that have severely stretched the military.

The proposed 2011 defense budget comes to more than 700 billion dollars, a modest two percent increase, and unlike last year avoids sweeping cuts to major weapons programs, according to Pentagon officials and draft documents.

Despite alarm over the US government's ballooning deficit, Obama has spared the military from belt-tightening efforts and will ask for 33 billion dollars for the current fiscal year to pay for a surge of 30,000 reinforcements in Afghanistan, said officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have already cost one trillion dollars since 2001, and the new budget calls for roughly 159 billion dollars to cover the costs of the US missions there -- including about 11.6 billion to expand the Afghan security forces, officials said.

The budget asks for 9.6 billion for a range of helicopters -- a lifeline for troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan's rugged landscape -- and 2.7 billion for unmanned drones and sensors used to hunt down insurgents.

The Pentagon sets a goal of nearly doubling the fleet of MQ-9 Reapers, unmanned planes that can carry precision-guided bombs, a coveted weapon that has transformed US tactics.

With special forces seen as serving a pivotal role in helping hunt down Al-Qaeda figures and training allied troops, the budget provides 6.3 billion dollars to provide equipment, training and 2,800 additional soldiers for the service.

In a longer-term strategy document mandated by Congress every four years, the Pentagon declares winning "today's wars" as the military's top priority, citing Afghanistan, Iraq and other unnamed countries where US forces can help to "dismantle terrorist networks," according to a draft of the report.

The draft Quadrennial Defense Review discards a long-running doctrine that required the military to prepare to fight two wars at the same time.

Instead, the military will have to prepare for a range of threats in an "uncertain security landscape" where extremists or "non-state actors" pose a growing danger along with the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and cyber attacks, the document says.

The review also for the first time identifies global warming as a potential trigger of instability and urges the military to renew efforts to reduce its dependence on oil.

Both the strategy document and budget appeared heavily influenced by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, noting the stress placed on soldiers' families from repeated deployments and calling for enshrining counter-insurgency doctrine.

Amid reports of US special forces working closely with Yemeni troops to target Al-Qaeda operatives, the strategy review was unclear if the administration anticipated more costly, wars against insurgents requiring large numbers of ground troops -- or if it would instead rely on arming proxies.

"I don't see us in these big involvements again," said Lawrence Korb, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and a former assistant secretary of defense.

"That's a question I'd like to see answered," Korb told AFP. "Is Yemen the model or Iraq the model from now on?"

The cost of maintaining the all-volunteer force, which has expanded under the demands of the Iraq and Afghan conflicts, are steadily rising, with large sums spent on salaries, medical care and other compensation for soldiers and their families.

"Personnel costs in the Pentagon are rising so fast that they are beginning to crowd out technology in the defense budget," said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst and consultant with the Lexington Institute.

"There's just not enough money left to buy all the weapons they want."

Unlike the last defense budget which halted the F-22 Raptor fighter program among others, the 2011 spending plan makes less dramatic cuts to major weapons systems and is less likely to provoke stiff resistance in Congress.

But the draft budget does call for ending further funding for C-17 transport planes and for an alternate engine for F-35 fighter jets, which is sure to draw criticism from some lawmakers.

The Defense Department calls for "robust funding" of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, with 10.7 billion for 42 aircraft despite persistent questions about technical problems associated with the aircraft.