The largest and mightiest military fighting force on the planet is about to get smaller, but the political battle will determine how much smaller it will be. With the Iraq war ended and the Afghanistan war scheduled to do the same, the Defense Department will shrink for the first time since 2001.

The Obama administration wants to cut Pentagon spending nearly in half over a decade, while upping the attention on Asia and on the use of unmanned drones. Some Republicans in Congress say steep budget cuts will undermine national security. The role and readiness of the military, plus the nature of the threats and challenges ahead form the basis for vigorous battles in 2012.

A year ago, Adm. Mike Mullen, then the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, wrote that a changed world required the Pentagon to “deepen security relationships with our allies and create opportunities for partnerships with new and diverse groups of actors.” Such strategic alliances -- with Turkey, Russia, Pakistan, for instance -- have also sparked debate this year among the presidential candidates, who splinter when discussing U.S. engagement abroad, nation-building, cultural diplomacy and other forms of “soft power.”

Poll after poll indicates that the United States is not only viewed favorably abroad, but the country’s image has been enhanced under President Obama in comparison with his predecessor, George W. Bush. Investors outside the United States, who do not know Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich in depth, say they want Obama to be re-elected, according to a quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll of worldwide investors, traders and analysts released Thursday.

And Obama’s reputation for leadership on the world stage remains on solid footing in most countries, according to polls, even as international assessments of the president have grown more equivocal around the world since his historic 2008 election.

-- Alexis Simendinger

Introduction

Federal Debt, Deficit, Budget

Employment

Crime

Environment