General Lloyd Austin III,    US CENTRAL COMMAND  UNITED STATES ARMY  (credit: Wikipedia)B

By Gary  Raynaldo     DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

At the direction of President Biden, the  Department of Defense will conduct a global force posture review of U.S. military footprint, resources, strategy and missions, Secretary of Defense Gen. Lloyd Austin, III announced Thursday.  Earlier in  the day,  President Joseph R. Biden delivered his first major foreign policy address at the U.S. State Department before an audience of diplomats.  During his speech, Biden said the  Defense Department and the State Department will work closely and in tandem to better represent to the world the power of American values and ideals. The president has tasked Secretary of Defense Austin to conduct the review. 

“President Biden’s call today for American leadership on the world stage, and in particular his belief that diplomacy should be our first tool of choice, is reassuring not only to the men and women of the Department of Defense, but to our fellow citizens as well.  It means the United States, never afraid to fight when we must, will also never be afraid to engage in difficult discussions and negotiations.”

-Secretary of Defense Gen. Lloyd Austin

The Defense Secretary said the global force posture review of  will inform  his advice to the Commander-in-Chief about how we best the DOD allocates  military forces in pursuit of national interests.  “The review will be led by the Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, in close consultation with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” Austin said in a statement.

U.S. Diplomacy and  Defense Must Act in Concert With Allies:  Gen. Austin  

“We will consult our allies and partners as we conduct this review.  As I said on my first day in the job, no one succeeds at this business alone.  From Afghanistan and the Middle East, across Europe, Africa and our own hemisphere, to the wide expanse of the Western Pacific, the United States stands shoulder-to-shoulder with allies old and new, partners big and small. As President Kennedy once observed, diplomacy and defense are not mutually-exclusive.  They complement one another.  They each make the other stronger.  And each alone will likely fail. Today, President Biden reminds us that risk of such failure is still high, and that the costs of American leadership — also high — are still worth paying.  He reminds us that the American people are safer when we act in concert with our allies and in accordance with our values.  And he challenges us to remember that, while force may be the final, diplomacy must be the first arbiter of our peace and security.”

U.S. To Halt Planned Troop Withdrawals from Germany

Biden said of the DOD Review:   “It will be coordinated across all elements of our national security, with Secretary Austin and Secretary [of State Anthony] Blinken working in close cooperation. And while this review is taking place, we’ll be stopping any planned troop withdrawals from Germany.”