Hmm, our military can barely keep up with the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. Now Secretary Gates is saying that we are going to expand our military presence in Asia, our ‘war weariness’ and debt problems notwithstanding. Something doesn’t add up here!
GATES SEES WIDER US MILITARY PRESNCE IN ASIA
The Straits Times
June 4, 2011
SINGAPORE - IN A parting pitch to Asian allies, retiring US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Saturday that the Pentagon is considering steps to widen its military presence across the Pacific Rim. He said budget woes won't interfere.
'America is, as the expression goes, putting our money where our mouth is with respect to this part of the world - and will continue to do so,' Mr Gates told Asia's premier security conference, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.
On his final overseas trip before stepping down June 30 - and his seventh to Asia in the last 18 months - Mr Gates insisted that Americans' war weariness and debt worries should not be seen as setting the stage for a shrinking of US commitments in Asia. On the leading sources of US security concerns in Asia - North Korea and China - he made only brief mention.
But he did highlight a Pentagon commitment to developing ways of countering 'anti-access' technologies of the kind that the US says China is working on - advanced anti-ship missiles, for example, that could make it harder for US aircraft carriers and other warships to operate in Asia seas.
On Friday evening, Mr Gates met with his Chinese counterpart, General Liang Guanglie. Mr Gates told Gen Liang that he believes the military-to-military relationship is 'on a positive trajectory,' after a series of setbacks in recent years. Gen Liang said he agreed that defence ties are getting better and that they deserve still more attention. -- AP
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