Defense
An Australian army general next month will become the first foreign officer to assume a senior role in the U.S. Army’s Pacific command, as the Pentagon shifts its focus to Asia and builds alliances in the region. – Washington Times
A feisty 44 hit Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s call for increased military spending and a larger Navy — and also offered a curious promise that a pending round of Pentagon spending cuts will not happen. – Defense News
White House press secretary Jay Carney said that 44’s comments on Monday that sequestration “will not happen” did not represent a change in his position. – DEFCON Hill
44’s vow at Monday’s debate that the sequestration cuts “will not happen” could come back to haunt him during Congress’s lame-duck negotiations on the fiscal cliff if he is reelected. – DEFCON Hill
Encouraged by 44 saying at Monday’s debate that sequestration “will not happen,” AIA CEO Marion Blakey said Tuesday that her trade association is calling on the 44th administration and Congress to immediately start negotiations on reversing the across-the-board cuts. – DEFCON Hill
With all due respect to the Navy and Air Force, the U.S. Army wants Washington to know that the “pivot” to Asia actually will be their gig. – The E-Ring
The Army will shift the focus of its combat training centers away from a decade of counter-insurgency to one that forces combat units to adapt to the multi-mission battlefield of the future. – DOD Buzz
The U.S. Army on Tuesday said its ground vehicle procurement programs may escape significant impact from mandatory additional budget cuts due to start taking effect in January, since most of the programs are only in the developmental phase at the moment. – Reuters
The U.S. Army is launching a detailed study of companies that supply key parts for ground vehicles after months of warnings from larger prime contractors that budget cuts and delays in new programs are straining smaller component makers. – Reuters
For all the bluster, 44 has consistently shown himself ignorant of the choices required to sustain the best tool of projecting American power in the 21stcentury: the United States Navy. – National Review Online
The War
A military strike to recapture Mali’s Islamist-held north is growing more likely, according to Western powers, regional bodies and the United Nations — a pronounced shift after months of hesitation and hopes that negotiations might end what is now seen as a far-reaching jihadist threat. – New York Times
Europe must help restore security in Mali, hit by an Islamist insurgency in its north, and could lend support through military training to an African-led mission, Germany’s Foreign Minister said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Over the past two years, the 44th administration has been secretly developing a new blueprint for pursuing terrorists, a next-generation targeting list called the “disposition matrix.”…Although the matrix is a work in progress, the effort to create it reflects a reality setting in among the nation’s counterterrorism ranks: The United States’ conventional wars are winding down, but the government expects to continue adding names to kill or capture lists for years. – Washington Post
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) on Tuesday rejected the Defense Department’s classification of the Fort Hood shooting as a case of workplace violence. – The Hill
A dispute over whether a defendant must be present during a military tribunal brought proceedings to a halt Tuesday in the case of a Guantanamo prisoner accused in the attack on the Navy destroyer the USS Cole. A potential hurricane raised the prospect of an even longer disruption. – Associated Press
Cybersecurity
A report released by the Center for Strategic and International Studies suggests the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) take action to direct agencies to reallocate resources dedicated to cybersecurity. Three of the five authors of the report are former OMB officials, and sources said that the proposal is likely to be taken up by the agency. – Defense News
