>> military analysts are calling it the biggest change to the defense strategy since the end of the vietnam war . president obama outlined the strategy and it looks beyond the wars in afghanistan and iraq and guides them through a $450 billion in budget cuts while refocusing the national security priorities.
>> we will ensure them with smaller conventional ground forces . we will continue to get rid of outdated systems so that we can invest in the capabilities that we need for the future. including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. counter terrorism and weapons of mass destruction and the ability to operate in environments where adversaries try to deny access.
>> joining me now to discuss this, the chairman of votes vets.org and retired army colonel jack jacobs . you are among those who say this is the most significant change since the war. why?
>> we are refocusing on the attention from europe where it was for a long, long time. with a side job in vietnam and so on. it's the first time since the end of the second world war . the first time that the commander guidance has been so publicly announced, disseminated and debated before the exercise to secure the budgetary support. this is the first time i can remember that's happening. very, very explicit. we are going to focus attention on the mideast. we are going to focus our attention on more or less some southwest asia and the far east . to the extent that we are going to support nato. we intend to support them the same way that we supported them in libya. this is the first time this has been articulate and it means that we are going to drop the size of our conventional units and spend more on forces like special forces and special operations .
>> let me bring you in and let me welcome you home from iraq. i am happy to see your face on the soil of this country. let me talk to you about this. we know that the u.s. will not be able to fight two ground wars at once. the detail that i got is more reaction from vets that can be possible military benefits cut as a result of this. what are you hearing from vets?
>> first i think it's bolt what the president did. i agree. i love seeing him stand up and be the commander in chief. i think it's a threat to the way we have been operating which is great. she done with this stuff and trimg down the forces. i am in agreeance with that. how is that going to affect military retirees and so forth. there was a huge thing that came out that was unpopular in the military and whether or not we want to private as i. it's dead-on arrival and the support that it's a huge hot button issue thaw bring up from the military. let's look at what they look like. when it comes down to looking forward, this is visionary for the president. a bold change in policy. we are done sending ground troops in. that's a huge benefit.
>> the weapons program could be delayed including the purchase of this f 35 joint strike fighter jets. is that significant?
>> it is very significant. what's interesting is say subline that was missed. we will stop or delay additional purchases of f 35s and weapons systems . those production lines will stay open. there is a cost to that too. what the government doesn't want to do is stop production of the weapons system it needs. that's going to cost money. one interesting thing is we are cutting the size of the force that as human beings down to very, very low levels. levels we haven't seen in about a decade. if you want to save money, the fastest way to save is to cut the size of the force. if you cut weapons ises, you save money, but not until next year and the year after. you cut the number of people you are paying.
>> i'm going to get you the last word in this and tell us how it feels to be back home and how do you feel now?
>> it feels great to be home, but it's hard. it's a war that very few people served in. when we look at the numbers and talk about cutting back the troop numbers, it's interesting because this has been overextended and deployed so many times. that's the biggest benefit that came out of the president's speech. it looks like he is cutting forces because he is less willing to utilize them than in the past. massive deployments.
>> we are happy you're back. we have to share thaw are a giants fan and you were too thrilled that
Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/newsnation/45889236/
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