New military chief seeks balance in US power??

By ROBERT BURNS

National Security Writer

 

Miami Herald

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration welcomed Army Gen. Martin Dempsey as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Friday and said farewell to Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, whose final day as the top American military officer was punctuated by the killing of a key al-Qaida figure.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey as the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

In a ceremony at Fort Myer, Va., President Barack Obama lauded Mullen for his steadiness, resilience and humility.

“Be assured, our military is stronger and our nation is more secure because of the service that you have rendered,” the president told Mullen, who is ending a 43-year military career. Obama called Dempsey one of the military’s most battle-tested officers.

Just hours earlier, U.S. officials confirmed that radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, an American citizen and prominent figure in al-Qaida’s affiliate in Yemen, was killed in an airstrike there.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta also praised Mullen and welcomed Dempsey as the next Joint Chiefs chairman. Of Dempsey he said, “He knows about people, he knows about hard work, he knows about sacrifice.”

In his final speech as chairman, Mullen urged Americans to do more to help returning war veterans.

“War has changed them and their loved ones forever, but it has not changed their dreams,” Mullen said. “You can help make those dreams come true. Hire them. Help them buy a home. Get them started on the path to an education. Give them a chance.”

After his swearing-in, Dempsey delivered brief remarks pledging that on his watch the military will remain strong, despite the pressure of budget cuts.

“We’ll change and we’ll be challenged,” he said. “But when I complete my tenure as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff I intend to be able to say exactly the same thing: we will be the joint force the nation needs us to be, so help me God.”

Even before taking over as chairman, Dempsey made clear that he differs with his predecessor on one of the most important issues of the day: the threat posed to national security by a growing national debt.

Dempsey was being sworn in as successor to Mullen, who is retiring. At his Senate confirmation hearing in July, Dempsey was asked whether he agreed with Mullen’s oft-repeated assertion that the debt crisis is the single biggest threat to American national security.

“I don’t agree exactly with that,” Dempsey said.

In his view, developed in the course of a 37-year career that includes two tours of command in Iraq and one in Saudi Arabia, American global power and influence are derived from three strengths: military, diplomatic and economic.

“You can’t pick or choose,” he said; none of the three is paramount.

It’s too early to know how much change Dempsey will foster in his role as the top U.S. military officer, but it’s certain that pressures to cut the defense budget – and what that implies for the military and for American foreign policy – will be a dominant issue from Day One of his tenure.

So while he sees the debt problem as highly important, Dempsey believes the United States cannot be successful in managing its national security and international affairs without asserting influence through a combination of a powerful military, an effective diplomatic corps and a sound economy.

His will be among the key voices in recommending how to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from the defense budget over the coming decade.

By law, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs serves as the senior military adviser to the president, the president’s National Security Council and the secretary of defense. But the chairman is not directly in the chain of command that extends from the president to the secretary of defense to commanders in the field. He is the public face of the U.S. military and weighs in on major policy decisions but is not actually in charge of any troops.