While the economy and jobs remain the bread-and-butter issues of the 2012 presidential race, tonight's final debate will focus on topics that remain important to voters deciding on who will be their commander-in-chief for the next four years: Namely, how the candidates see the role of the United States on the global stage.
President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney each has a distinct vision for how the U.S. should pursue its relationships with key enemies and allies in the 21st century. And as the U.S. winds down it's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan, both candidates have vastly different plans for the future of the military.
Here, we go through the candidates' achievements and plans for the future of U.S. foreign policy and national security.
The Obama Defense Plan
The Obama administration has laid out plans to draw down U.S. military and defense spending, including cutting several Defense Department programs that civilian and military leaders have indicated are unnecessary.
These programs include the Medium Air Defense System (an attempt to make a better Patriot missile), the Global Hawk Drone (which has been replaced by other, more sophisticated models) and the C-130 Hercules transport plane (as the current fleet is sufficient for the planned shift away from airlifts.)
The White House's future plans for the military include a gradual reduction to pre-2006 levels, scaling back personnel between 1% and 2.5% depending on the branch of service.He is also in the process of cutting the Department of Defense workforce by around 10% through attrition.
Here's the administration's latest Defense budget plan >
More broadly, the Obama administration's plans for the military involve a significant "pivot" in focus to the Pacific to emphasize policy goals there. The administration has also given the go-ahead for production of the new Gerald R. Ford class of aircraft carrier, and production of the F-35 new joint strike fighter is to continue on schedule.
Source: NDAA, White House
The Romney Defense Plan
Romney wants to ensure that federal defense spending takes up at least four percent of GDP.
From his campaign website:
He will put our Navy on the path to increase its shipbuilding rate from nine per year to approximately fifteen per year, which will include three submarines per year. He will also modernize and replace the aging inventories of the Air Force, Army, and Marines, and selectively strengthen our force structure.
The Romney plan is in favor of more defense spending and personnel. Romney doesn't want to reduce troop levels on the same track that the Obama administration does and he has said that he would maintain the defense programs that Obama wants to cut, either in whole or in part, as well as expand acquisition for new missile sites in Poland and a radar site in the Czech Republic.
Romney has also indicated his interest in restarting the expensive and controversial F-22 aircraft program, in addition to buying up more F-35 joint strike fighters.
Finally, the Romney campaign has also laid out plans to reform the procurement process:
During World War II the United States built 1,000 ships per year with 1,000 people employed in the Bureau of Ships [...] By the 1980s, we were building seventeen ships per year, with 4,000 people in purchasing. Today, when we are building only nine ships a year, the Pentagon manages the shipbuilding process with some 25,000 people.
Source: Mitt Romney 2012
Obama on Israel
Obama's record with Israel is somewhat mixed. On one hand, he has a notoriously tense relationship with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a divide that could spell bad news for the future of negotiations in the region.
But Obama has also delivered on several key promises to Israel. Under his administration, the U.S. has strengthened its cooperation with the Israeli military on air defense, including the sale of advanced air defense systems to Israel and collaboration on developing new missile interception technologies.
Under the Obama administration, American contractors have been dispatched to help construct the Iron Dome missile defense system, the Arrow system, and an array of Patriot missiles. Raytheon is also actively building the next-gen David's Sling missile defense system with Israel.
Source: IDF Blog
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