there goes rummy again
Defense review has a go-it-alone tone
Alliances are said to be discouraged
By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | March 10, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has outlined the main priorities for the Pentagon's 2005 defense review, including a focus on protecting the American homeland and discouraging any other nation from building a military to rival the United States, but his marching orders place little emphasis on military alliances, according to defense officials.
Top Pentagon officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said they believe Rumsfeld's priorities reflect the military thinking of the Bush administration amid the Iraq war: that the United States cannot count on other nations to help battle Islamic extremists, stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction, or prevent the rise of rival powers, particularly the People's Republic of China.
''The parameters of the study suggest that this administration has abandoned the Clinton administration focus on coalition warfare and is more or less planning to go it alone," said a Pentagon adviser who has been briefed on Rumsfeld's memo outlining priorities for the review. ''They want to train locals to deal with their own terrorists, but they do not plan to rely on allies in military operations."
The memo, unclassified portions of which were viewed by the Globe, has circulated among top brass since March 1. Some senior military leaders have said that Rumsfeld is trying to dictate the findings of the review rather than just establish its terms. One senior officer contended that the study is being conducted from the ''top down."
''They already know what they want to do and are saying go do it," the officer said.