CNN REPORTS: DRAMATIC SHIFT IN PENTAGON THINKING COMING MONDAY

Review shows dramatic shift in Pentagon's thinking

By Mike Mount, CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/01/us.pentagon.review/index.html?hpt=T1

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Quadrennial Defense Review will be issued the same day the Pentagon presents its budget
New review stresses threat of cyber attacks and threats to surveillance satellites
The review puts a priority on helicopters for the rugged terrain in Afghanistan
Review also says effects of climate change could be a cause for future conflicts

Washington (CNN) -- The Pentagon will no longer shape the U.S. military to fight two major conventional wars at once, but rather prepare for numerous conflicts and not all in the same style, according to a draft of a new strategic outlook the Pentagon is announcing on Monday.

The new mantra for military planners will replace the almost 25-year-old combat planning style of fighting and winning two major conventional wars in two different locations in favor of a fighting force that is capable of protecting U.S. interests around the world from a range of threats, from terrorism to cyber attacks.

The change will be addressed in the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review, a congressionally mandated document that looks at future threats and the military's requirements to mitigate them.

"It is no longer appropriate to speak of major regional conflicts as the sole or even primary template for sizing, shaping or evaluating U.S. forces," according to a draft first obtained by Inside Defense.

The review will come on the same day the Pentagon presents its 2011 budget.
According to Pentagon officials, Defense Secretary Robert Gates will be asking for $708 billion, including funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan -- $44 billion more the 2010 budget of $664 billion.

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/01/us.pentagon.review/index.html?hpt=T1