All for Meeting 21st Century 'Challenge'--- Comment on US 2002 Defense Report

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, August 29, 2002

All for Meeting 21st Century 'Challenge'--- Comment on US 2002 Defense Report

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The signed article published by the Liberation Army Daily on August 26 comments on US Defense Department's 2002 "National Defense Report". The article points out that on August 15, 2002, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld submitted the 2002 "National Defense Report" (hereinafter referred to as "Report") to Congress and the President.

This is the first defense policy report of the Bush administration. Compared with the similar report of his predecessor, it has its salient characteristics, the core of which is that everything is for meeting the "challenges" of the 21st century.

The "uncertainty" and "suddenness" of threat has replaced the mode of thinking featuring fixation of threat, who is enemy and who is friend are judged by the degree of threat.

The judgment of threat is the essential basis on which the United States formulates its national defense policy, this was the case during the Cold War period and remains so after the conclusion of the Cold War. The America's threat judgment has always been referred to practical and potential threats in particular fields or from certain specific countries. For instance, the Clinton administration divided threats into four kinds facing the United States: weapons of mass destruction and the proliferation of carriers, large-scale war of war zone, democracy and the retrogression of market economic reform as well as economic security.

The 2002 annual "Report" fixes threat on "uncertainty" and "suddenness". The "Report" points out: "there are still many factors in the world that threaten the United States and the American people, and these threats are diversified, including large-scale wars and traceless terror actions." The "September 11" incident presented an entirely different world to the people: The 21st century security environment is widely different from the threat the United States faced in the 20th century. This kind of security environment is more complicated and dangerous." In the opinion of the US Defense Department, in the new security environment, the "challenge" confronting the United States is manifested in two aspects: First is geographical-political change; second is the development of military technology.

In the geographical-political aspect, the "Report" admits that due to technological development and economic globalization, the United States is losing the natural geographical environmental protection. All this has provided an opportunity for "hostile countries" and terrorists to enter the United States and attack it from within. New uncertain factors have also emerged in Europe and Asia.

In military technology, the "Report" points out that military revolution is changing the method of military action, sensing technology, information processing technology and precision guidance technology have enabled the military to move forward at quick rhythm. The United States needs not only to use technical innovation brought about by military revolution, but also to develop new theory of operation, establish new institutions and carry out training and experiment, so as to guarantee the reshaping of the armed forces.

In the judgment of threat, the "Report" mentions Iraq and some other countries by name, it does not mention one or two big countries by name as it did in the past. This indicates that American defense policy-makers have abandoned their traditional method of fixing opponents, instead, who is enemy and who is friend are determined by the degree of threat. This applies even to big countries. The uncertainty of the object of threat has undoubtedly raised an even higher demand on the US military. So, the American Defense Department demands that US military forces can cope with all wars from the large-scale war theatre to attacking traceless terrorist actions.

In line with the new strategic principle, the US military is incessantly enhancing its offensive abilities, its defensive capabilities will also be strengthened. The US military forces are required not only to serve as tools for the implementation of US global strategy, but also to properly guard the homeland.

In an effort to comply with the new security environment, the American Defense Department has done the following things in the past year: Adopting a new defense policy to replace the military strategy requiring "winning two large-scale wars of the war theatre" that has been in use in the past decade; revising the missile defense program, and withdrawing from the ABM (Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty), it pays more attention to the development of space technology; establishing a new Joint Command plan, founding the North Command, strengthening defense of the native land, and quickening the reshaping of the military forces; and setting up a new strategic deterrent method, etc.

American defense decision-makers insist that the military forces are tools for implementing global strategy, but more importantly, the military forces have to fulfill the task of protecting the home and defending the country. In the "Report", Rumsfeld wrote: "The state of isolation enjoyed by the United States in history has given way to a new age of fragility. Present and future enemies would pursue assaults full of imagination power and suddenness, attacking the United States and the military." "As the opponents get a weaponry system of ever-wider firing range and ever-greater power, future assaults will become more fatal than the "September 11" attacks. Surprise attacks and uncertainties have therefore become the "challenge" facing the Defense Department to protect the home and defend the country in the new century.

The "Report" regards the protection of home and defense of the country as the primary abilities to be possessed after the reshaping of the military forces, pointing out that what is of the most, paramount importance is to defend crucial operational bases, while the most important of which is the American proper".

It should be said that protection of the home and defense of the country has always been a mission entrusted to the US military forces by the Constitution. However, in the words of US media, before the occurrence of the "September 11" incident, the muzzle of US military forces had all along been aimed outside, and what US military forces were concerned about was to protect US vested interests worldwide. The "September 11" attacks posed huge vibrant impact on the American concept of security. The series of US measures adopted to strengthen the defense of the native land, such as founding the North Command, indicate that US decision-makers have greater hope that US military forces pay attention to the security of the native land.

In order too guarantee fulfillment of the above-mentioned task by US military forces, the "Report", while summing up experiences gained in the act of military attacks in Afghanistan, points out that if necessary, the action of pre-emptive strike can be taken to "guide the war to the enemy", thinking that "the best defense is smart offensive". In line with the new strategic principle, US military forces, while constantly improving their offensive abilities, will also strengthen their defensive capabilities.

Taking the Restructuring of the Armed Forces as the Traction, Building US Armed Forces Capable of Successfully Fulfilling Various Combat Tasks

Beginning from the late 1990s, the various US services have been shouting about the reshaping of military forces, with the Army shouting the loudest. The "Report" points out that the reshaping of US military forces is the main content of US new defense policy and is a strategic issue. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld pointed out in the "Report" that the restructuring of US military forces is a must. During the Cold War period, the United States was faced with a relatively stable and predictable threat, but the challenge in the 21st century is hardly predictable. Who could imagine that just a few months ago, terrorists would hijack commercial planes, changed them into missiles and used them to ram into the Pentagon and the World Trade Center? According to the plan, the restructuring of US military forces is "a course, not a terminal".

The first stage would take about 10 years' time. After restructuring, US Army would become of a light type with even stronger fragmentation force and maneuvering force. The Army will not only have the traditional abilities of entering the ports and air force bases of other countries, but will integrate with long-range, precise attacking system into one entity. The Navy and marine corps will be able to enter into regions with obstacle and obstruction, act in the coastal areas near the hostile forces and be able to send their forces into the terrestrial depth. The air force will be able to trace the moving enemy targets in an extensive area and can, together with the land and sea forces, launch quick attacks on these targets from a long distance without making any early warnings. The various services will combine to form joint forces through a network, thereby successfully carrying out highly complicated and scattered actions in the long-distant and extensive air space.

The "Report" reiterates the need to use a new "three-in-one" strategic force to replace the old one. The "Report" also declares that the US military forces, when necessary, will unhesitatingly use nuclear weapons to attack the enemy. That is to say, threat and change of the security environment have forced US military forces to embark on the restructuring road.

Competing for the commanding heights of space, information and intelligence, ready to fight a "network center war".

Concerning with military commanding heights has all along been the important content of US "National Defense Report". The 2001 annual "Report" put forward two commanding heights: outer space and information. "Intelligence" is added to the 2002 annual "Report". Obviously, this is US reaction to the defects of the intelligence system after the "September 11" incident. In the American opinion, progress in the fields of space, information and intelligence is quickening the speed of the action of operation and reducing the rotating time of information, capable of making decisions at a reasonable level and guaranteeing the flow of information and intelligence. All this has made contributions in US global anti-terrorist war.

The "Report" holds that the Defense Department has made all-out effort to improve space, information and intelligence technologies and strengthen US military forces' mobility and flexibility and their abilities to cope with various kinds of emergence. The proposal of the Defense Department is concentrated in the following areas: Further strengthening US ability to fight space war and its abilities of access and subsistence; establishing a global networking system of safety, reliability and high performance; high-quality information and rich-intelligence networking system, supporting network center war, etc.

The most noteworthy issue in the "Report" is that the American Defense Department has listed "network center war" as the principal method of operation of the US military forces in the future. In the next few years, the US Defense Department will pay attention to extending its communication facilities to various units of US armed forces and improving the interoperability of the intelligence and national defense networks. In 2003, the US Defense Department will spend US$2.3 billion on improving information technology.

Space and information technologies are regarded as the newly rising technical field of US military forces. It is the view of US armed forces that possession of the above-mentioned technologies can guarantee the march of US military forces toward the goal of informationization troops. Capturing and occupying these commanding heights will enable US military forces to cope with "challenges" in the early 21st century, thereby serving US global strategy.

International observers hold that the "Report" shows US devotes its efforts to pursuing absolute military superiority and absolute security. US defense budget for 2003 is as high as US$393 billion, accounting for 36.3 percent of the globe's total military spending, exceeding the aggregate military spending of the 15-20 countries with the largest national defense expenditures, which are ranked behind it. US military R&D expenditure is three times greater than the total military R&D expenditures of six major military powers ranking just behind it.

By People's Daily Online

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