Chairman Joint Chiefs Marine General Is Boston Strong

Obama chooses Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. as Joint Chiefs chairman 
89.3 KPCC
Lolita C Baldor
AP
May 5, 2015

Obama referred to Dunford's native Boston, saying he's the "very definition of Boston strong." But Obama added, "the only downside in my book is as a White Sox fan, there is yet another Red Sox fan who I'm going to have to be dealing with."

President Barack Obama tapped a highly respected combat commander as his next chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Tuesday, signaling that the battles against al-Qaida and Islamic State militants threatening the Middle East and the West remain top priorities for the nation's military despite years of trying to change the focus to Asia.

Announcing his selection of Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford Jr. during a Rose Garden ceremony, Obama said America's armed forces must be ready to meet a broad range of challenges, and that Dunford has proven to be one of the military's most highly regarded strategic thinkers.

"We have to keep training Afghan forces and remain relentless against Al Qaida. We have to push back against ISIL and strengthen forces in Syria and build moderate opposition in Syria," said Obama, using an alternate name for the Islamic State group. "We have to stand united with our allies in Europe and keep rebalancing our posture as a Pacific power. We have to keep investing in new capabilities to meet growing threats, including cyber attacks."

As the U.S. started to look beyond the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Pentagon had begun to increase its focus on the Asia Pacific region, where the North Korea threat was escalating and China was flexing its military muscles. But that has been eclipsed by the march of Islamic State militants across Syria and Iraq, and the group's effort to expand to other regions and import the fight to the West.
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