Bush Discusses Long-Range Military Plans

By Gerry J. Gilmore

Bush Discusses Long-Range Military Plans

President Bush is at the Pentagon today to discuss his long-range plans for the U.S. military with senior civilian and military leaders.

Bush was accompanied by Vice President Richard B. Cheney as he arrived at the Pentagon earlier today. The president is slated to meet with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other defense and military officials, Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell told reporters at a Pentagon news conference yesterday.

The commander in chief is expected to discuss the military's strategic future, as well as the need to continue investment in the defense arena long after the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have ended, Morrell told reporters.

Following his previous meeting with defense leaders at the Pentagon on Aug. 31, Bush released a statement saying he'd accepted Gates' recommendation to increase the overall number of soldiers and Marines by 92,000 during the next five years.

That meeting, Bush stated, also featured discussion about military and civilian coordination in places like Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, the Philippines and Iraq.

ENDS

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