Sharing Defense Isn’t a Burden, U.S. Says

If you want to keep up with official Washington terminology, take the term “burden-sharing” out of your vocabulary. The Bush Administration isn’t using it any more.

“Burden-sharing” was the term commonly used in recent years for U.S. efforts to persuade allies such as Japan, West Germany and South Korea to help pay for the costs of stationing American troops overseas.

But Undersecretary of State Robert Kimmitt told a congressional hearing this week that U.S. policy-makers think the word is misleading. “We don’t think the defense of freedom and democracy is a burden,” explained Kimmitt.

Kimmitt offered a substitute, which he used on several occasions during congressional testimony: “responsibility-sharing.”