Posted on: Sunday, September 2, 2001

Editorial
U.S. military prepares to shift focus to Asia

Remarks by Army Secretary Thomas White confirm that the military is planning for what its civilian leaders have been contemplating: a shift in emphasis from Europe to Asia.

This is long overdue, in the judgment of legions of Asia specialists. As Hawai'i Sen. Dan Inouye pointed out, almost all of the potential flashpoints that might embroil the United States in the near future are in the Asia-Pacific region.

That the Bush administration has been talking of such a shift, however, has been a mixed blessing. While the shift itself is needed, there is talk that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld envisions a pull-back of U.S. troops from their forward Asia basing, with reliance instead on long-range, high-tech weaponry to back up American regional obligations.

As Adm. Dennis Blair, commander of Pacific forces, publicly pointed out, this would be a serious mistake, signalling a diminishing defense commitment on the part of the United States.

What commanders have begun to do, according to White, is move some supplies and materiel from Europe to Asia-Pacific. It makes sense to have this stuff where it is most likely to be needed, rather than where the need largely disappeared with the end of the Cold War.

A decision to transfer live bodies from Europe to Asia, however, awaits a more high-level determination, and must be done carefully. Pulling troops out of Europe may alarm Europeans as much as adding troops to Asian bases will annoy the neighbors who are already complaining about the burden.