A New Direction For The U.S. Military

BAGHDAD AIRPORT - U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Anthony J. Rock accompanies U.S. Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta at Baghdad International Airport before the secretary departs for Erbil, Iraq, to meet with Kurdistan Regional Government President Masoud Barzani, July 12, 2011. Rock is director of the Iraqi Training and Advisory Mission Air Force, U.S. Forces Iraq. DOD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jacob N. Bailey

Panetta Signals A New Tone On U.S.-Led Wars -- L.A. Times

The new Defense secretary makes it clear he wants to set limits — on his military commanders, on the expectations of America's allies and on the U.S. defense budget — to get the Pentagon off a permanent war footing.

Reporting from Baghdad — Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta carried an unmistakable message on his first overseas trip since taking office this month: One way or another, the two wars that have consumed the Pentagon for much of the last decade are nearing an end.

Panetta declared after departing Washington on Friday that Al Qaeda appeared on the verge of defeat. In Afghanistan, he stressed that the U.S. military must transfer security responsibility to the Afghan army. And in Iraq he emphasized that most, if not all, U.S. troops would pull out by year's end.

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My Comment: The message from Panetta is very clear .... the U.S. military is returning home, and our allies better get their act together. As for the U.S. military itself, expect it to be much smaller and limited in what they are capable of doing.