Pentagon Invites Allies for First Time to Secret Talks Aimed at Sharing Bu [View All]

[Rose Siding]

Pentagon Invites Allies for First Time to Secret Talks Aimed at Sharing Burdens

The Pentagon has for the first time invited foreign allies into classified discussions that will shape America's military missions and combat forces for years to come, with the goal of identifying tasks that would become the responsibility of other nations and no longer the burden of the United States.

Senior Defense Department and military officials say the effort is a significant departure for how America decides the size, shape and missions of its armed forces. The decisions could more closely bind America and its military allies in peacetime, the officials said, and allow them to operate more efficiently when conducting disaster relief, peacekeeping, stabilization and full-scale combat operations.
...
Pentagon officials acknowledged that the focus on alliances could be cited by critics as an admission that the Bush administration did not do enough before the invasion of Iraq to secure worldwide support, or later to sustain contributions of allies as Iraq struggles to fight an insurgency and install a new government.

"Although the United States has historically preferred to act in concert with other states, it has also maintained the ability to act unilaterally if necessary," the classified planning document states. "Today's problems, however, are such that the United States cannot succeed by addressing them alone. The Terms of Reference, therefore, propose that the United States develop new partnerships to address nontraditional challenges."

http://nytimes.com/2005/03/18/politics/18strategy.html