Tuesday, January 31, 2012

New Defense Strategy Using Old Weapons

President Barack Obama briefs the press on a new defense strategy as Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, prepare to offer remarks at the Pentagon, Jan. 5, 2012. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter, members of the Joint Chiefs and service secretaries participated in the briefing. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

New Defense Strategy Uses Old Weapons -- Detroit Free Press

WASHINGTON -- The lineup of weapons the Pentagon has picked to fit President Barack Obama's new forward-looking defense strategy, called "Priorities for 21st Century Defense," features relics of the past.

They include the Air Force's B52 bomber, whose current model entered service shortly before Obama was born. There is the even older U2 spy plane, which began flying in 1955.

When Obama went to the Pentagon on Jan. 5 to announce his new defense strategy, he said that as the U.S. shifts from a decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, it will "get rid of outdated Cold War-era systems." He was not specific. But when the first details of the Pentagon's 2013 budget plan were announced Thursday, it was clear that some prominent remaining Cold War-era systems will live on.

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My Comment: You go to war with what you have .... at least we still have these old weapon systems still kicking around. What I am wondering about is .... what will our children have when we are gone and these weapon systems (like the B-52 and U-2) are really truly old.

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