Pentagon invites US allies to help shape its military strategy

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

Senior Defense Department and military officials say the effort is a significant departure for how the US decides the size, shape and missions of its armed forces. The decisions could more closely bind the US 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.

The goal of revitalizing military alliances, and of forging new ones, is a central theme of a sweeping review of strategy, forces and missions now under way as required by Congress every four years. This Quadrennial Defense Review, or QDR, to be completed by early next year, is shaped in this initial phase by guidelines laid out in a secret document, known as Terms of Reference and recently approved by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

"Generating coalitions or expanding alliances capable of conducting major military operations will require increased levels of security cooperation," says the classified document, which runs about 40 pages.

"The United States cannot win a conflict against terrorist-extremists unilaterally," the document says.

Pentagon officials acknow-ledged 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 planning document says.

"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," it said.

Pentagon and military officials said the guidance had already prompted discussions with allies, including Britain, on how military burdens might be shared, with specific tasks to be assigned to specific allies.

"We are reaching out to some of our allies and partners as part of the QDR, and talking with them about the kinds of contributions each of us might make in future coalition operations," a senior Pentagon official said. "Likewise, we want to develop common assessments of security problems facing us and understand what sorts of capabilities and assistance our allies and partners might need from us," he said.

An example of such a burden-sharing program is in use in NATO, where smaller European partners take on the responsibility for certain jobs, like clearing mines.