The Obama administration is rewriting its defence strategy to absorb hundreds of billions of dollars in US defence budget cuts while scaling back the longstanding Pentagon goal of being ready to fight two wars simultaneously.

Underscoring the political dimension of Washington's debate over defence savings, President Barack Obama planned to make a rare appearance at the Pentagon on Thursday to outline the new strategy.

The administration says tighter budgets are a must but will not come at the cost of sapping the strength of a military in transition after a decade at war.

Al Jazeera's Rosalind Jordan reports from Washington.