The chairman of the US Financial Services committee Barney Franck has a panel working on defence cuts. Total cuts of USD 1 trillion over 10 years are seen – meaning closing many projects and withdrawing US forces from many places. The fighter F-35 has been evaluated, but has been ordered by many countries and so will be difficult to put down. US presence in many countries will be reduced. Japan will surely get a new round on Okinawa soon. Several projects make for difficult decisions.
Cuts are probably sound thinking, but objections will be many and fierce too. The situation is rather dramatic for the budget as a whole – so something has got to give in the next round.
Times are hard, and with crisis looming in Europe and Japan there are difficult times ahead. The superpower days for the US are progressing towards it’s end – the US wil just be a big power a bit further on.
The security and financial issues arising from this makes the world a thrilling place – what will the players do? New alliances and partners coming up? Confrontations or negotiations? Powerplay?
Who will be the new hero(es)? Will it be a better world?