Smashing the Defense Budget
This is a very important read on national defense and folks who are concerned about the monstrous defense budget.
http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/geo/pastanalysis/2008/1227...
Smashing the Defense Budget
by J. R. Nyquist
Weekly Column Published: 12.27.2008
The Center for Defense Information (CDI) has published a report titled “America’s Defense Meltdown: 13 non-partisan insiders, retired military officers & defense specialists speak out.” The report flatly states that America’s defenses are “outdated,” with “insufficient” lethality bought at high expense. In a chapter written by a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, we read: “The large standing forces were supposed to facilitate professional preparation for war, but the essential officer corps never truly professionalized itself.”
Regarding the projected national security strategy for 2009-2017, Col. Chet Richards (USAF, ret.) wrote: “Decisions by the last two Democratic and Republican administrations have … depleted our military strength … and strengthened those around the world whose goals conflict with ours.” He places the largest share of the blame on the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, where military forces were used to solve problems “that are inherently social, economic or political….”
In a chapter written by a Marine colonel and an Army major, we read: “Institutional failures pervade the current management of military men and women, by far our most important defense resource.” The authors write of “ingrained behaviors” related to risk aversion, “group think” and a preoccupation with “turf battles.” Contracts are said to matter more than winning wars. “The primary route to valuing people is to … nurture highly innovative, unshakably ethical thinkers. Sadly, in today’s armed forces such people … are known as mavericks.”
According to “America’s Defense Meltdown,” the U.S. Marine Corps espouses a doctrine of maneuver while organizing and training for a attrition warfare; there are too many officers and not enough “trigger pullers”; the U.S. Navy is still preparing to fight the Japanese carrier fleet when U.S. enemies no longer deploy carrier fleets; the U.S. must shift to submarines because “cruisers, destroyers and frigates are obsolescent warship types and should be retired”; the U.S. Air Force has not properly developed its close air support capabilities and air-to-air capabilities are presently underfunded.
The report warns that the Pentagon can no longer afford to approach military problems with a “wish list” that Congress simply fulfills. This manner of arms procurement is “outrageously expensive” and “impractical.” The present air mobility of the army simply costs too much. Strategic air and sea lift should be reduced because it is excessively expensive. Manned vehicles should be replaced with unmanned vehicles where possible. The National Guard should be reduced and kept at home. According to the report, “A fundamental source of the DOD’s problems is the historically long pattern of unrealistically high defense budget projections combined with equally unrealistic low estimates of costs of new programs.”
The report does not give pride of place to America’s nuclear arsenal, however. The authors seem to think that the threat from Russian and Chinese nuclear missiles isn’t worth mentioning. Furthermore, “conventional warfare between nuclear-armed nations” is essentially “impossible.” The “real threat,” says the report, comes from “fourth generation warfare and the New World Disorder.” In other words, terrorism initiated by dervishes hiding in caves. This is referred to in the report as “the demise of conventional war,” which goes beyond “the threat of nuclear weapons.” The new warfare, says the report, “is in many respects the end of the road because it may mark the end of the state system.” This is because nation states aren’t the primary war-makers. As the state loses its monopoly on violence, non-state actors take center stage.
At this point it is time to shake off the anarchist dust, look back to the achievements of the nation-state, and realize that somebody has been buying and packaging nonsense. The nation-state is the great actor, the nuclear-armed actor that levels entire cities and exterminates peoples. The state has the resources, the technology, the money, the manpower. No sect hiding in the mountains is going to equal Hitler’s Final Solution. The atom bomb wasn’t a private research project, and no privately funded organization has produced such a weapon.
Whatever you read about al Qaeda’s nukes, or terrorists with WMDs, you should read with skepticism. Nuclear weapons are built by nation states with permissive action codes imbedded in them. You cannot get anything out of stealing such weapons, or selling them off, because they won’t work without the codes that enable them to detonate. If a nuclear device is set off in the middle of the upcoming inauguration, it won’t be an act of Arab terrorism. Do not believe it. As a Russian military defector once said to me, it will not be Arab terrorists behind such an attack. It will be the Kremlin.
This is the thing that we’ve all got to understand. Know your enemy and know yourself, and you cannot be defeated in a hundred battles. But if you don’t know your enemy, you’re probably going to die. This is the nuclear age, and the weapon that promises to transform our world is nuclear. Everyone can see that an attack against America could come at any time. Washington might be eliminated tomorrow.
After reading “America’s Defense Meltdown” I am troubled that military men should emphasize the threat of non-state actors. Whatever the problems of the Middle East, America’s main enemies are nation-states like Russia and China. Only these are capable of crushing America. This is something al Qaeda cannot do. And so, when we talk about reforming the U.S. military and cutting defense spending, we need to be careful. We need to remember who can destroy us – not in theory, but in reality.
http://www.financialsense.com/stormwatch/geo/pastanalysis/2008/1227...
Smashing the Defense Budget
by J. R. Nyquist
Weekly Column Published: 12.27.2008
The Center for Defense Information (CDI) has published a report titled “America’s Defense Meltdown: 13 non-partisan insiders, retired military officers & defense specialists speak out.” The report flatly states that America’s defenses are “outdated,” with “insufficient” lethality bought at high expense. In a chapter written by a retired Marine Corps lieutenant colonel, we read: “The large standing forces were supposed to facilitate professional preparation for war, but the essential officer corps never truly professionalized itself.”
Regarding the projected national security strategy for 2009-2017, Col. Chet Richards (USAF, ret.) wrote: “Decisions by the last two Democratic and Republican administrations have … depleted our military strength … and strengthened those around the world whose goals conflict with ours.” He places the largest share of the blame on the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, where military forces were used to solve problems “that are inherently social, economic or political….”
In a chapter written by a Marine colonel and an Army major, we read: “Institutional failures pervade the current management of military men and women, by far our most important defense resource.” The authors write of “ingrained behaviors” related to risk aversion, “group think” and a preoccupation with “turf battles.” Contracts are said to matter more than winning wars. “The primary route to valuing people is to … nurture highly innovative, unshakably ethical thinkers. Sadly, in today’s armed forces such people … are known as mavericks.”
According to “America’s Defense Meltdown,” the U.S. Marine Corps espouses a doctrine of maneuver while organizing and training for a attrition warfare; there are too many officers and not enough “trigger pullers”; the U.S. Navy is still preparing to fight the Japanese carrier fleet when U.S. enemies no longer deploy carrier fleets; the U.S. must shift to submarines because “cruisers, destroyers and frigates are obsolescent warship types and should be retired”; the U.S. Air Force has not properly developed its close air support capabilities and air-to-air capabilities are presently underfunded.
The report warns that the Pentagon can no longer afford to approach military problems with a “wish list” that Congress simply fulfills. This manner of arms procurement is “outrageously expensive” and “impractical.” The present air mobility of the army simply costs too much. Strategic air and sea lift should be reduced because it is excessively expensive. Manned vehicles should be replaced with unmanned vehicles where possible. The National Guard should be reduced and kept at home. According to the report, “A fundamental source of the DOD’s problems is the historically long pattern of unrealistically high defense budget projections combined with equally unrealistic low estimates of costs of new programs.”
The report does not give pride of place to America’s nuclear arsenal, however. The authors seem to think that the threat from Russian and Chinese nuclear missiles isn’t worth mentioning. Furthermore, “conventional warfare between nuclear-armed nations” is essentially “impossible.” The “real threat,” says the report, comes from “fourth generation warfare and the New World Disorder.” In other words, terrorism initiated by dervishes hiding in caves. This is referred to in the report as “the demise of conventional war,” which goes beyond “the threat of nuclear weapons.” The new warfare, says the report, “is in many respects the end of the road because it may mark the end of the state system.” This is because nation states aren’t the primary war-makers. As the state loses its monopoly on violence, non-state actors take center stage.
At this point it is time to shake off the anarchist dust, look back to the achievements of the nation-state, and realize that somebody has been buying and packaging nonsense. The nation-state is the great actor, the nuclear-armed actor that levels entire cities and exterminates peoples. The state has the resources, the technology, the money, the manpower. No sect hiding in the mountains is going to equal Hitler’s Final Solution. The atom bomb wasn’t a private research project, and no privately funded organization has produced such a weapon.
Whatever you read about al Qaeda’s nukes, or terrorists with WMDs, you should read with skepticism. Nuclear weapons are built by nation states with permissive action codes imbedded in them. You cannot get anything out of stealing such weapons, or selling them off, because they won’t work without the codes that enable them to detonate. If a nuclear device is set off in the middle of the upcoming inauguration, it won’t be an act of Arab terrorism. Do not believe it. As a Russian military defector once said to me, it will not be Arab terrorists behind such an attack. It will be the Kremlin.
This is the thing that we’ve all got to understand. Know your enemy and know yourself, and you cannot be defeated in a hundred battles. But if you don’t know your enemy, you’re probably going to die. This is the nuclear age, and the weapon that promises to transform our world is nuclear. Everyone can see that an attack against America could come at any time. Washington might be eliminated tomorrow.
After reading “America’s Defense Meltdown” I am troubled that military men should emphasize the threat of non-state actors. Whatever the problems of the Middle East, America’s main enemies are nation-states like Russia and China. Only these are capable of crushing America. This is something al Qaeda cannot do. And so, when we talk about reforming the U.S. military and cutting defense spending, we need to be careful. We need to remember who can destroy us – not in theory, but in reality.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Jim Rock on -
was this for the purpose of an argument? learn Arabic or how to fight because our troops like to eat too
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Permalink Reply by Boudicca on -
Michael:
Tell me - when was the last time American soil was attacked by a foreign power? The War of 1812. Nobody in their right mind is going to attack America, or Russia for that matter because between the U.S. and Russia, there are enough nukes to lay waste the entire earth.
With a military budget of $700 billion and tax receipts of about $2.5 trillion, where is the money to come from for a bigger military budget? Go look up the $3 trillion plus federal budget over at freedomworks.com and you tell me what you are going to cut to balance the budget and increase military spending.
I believe that military spending needs to be subjected to review and scrutiny because the system is corrupt to the core. How much defense do we need? It's a legitimate issue and I salute the folks within the U.S. military who are addressing the fact that defense dollars are totally disallocated to the detriment of our national defense. Moreover, we need to know what percentage of our defense budget is squandered in maintaining overseas military installations.
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Permalink Reply by tyler sims on -
Boudicca,
In do respect i think you are confusing the strength of our nation historically with where we are at now on how secure we are. Also assuming that weapons technology hasnt advanced beyond what you hear in the news. Neither are smart assumptions to make.
Strongly agreed though on the corruption. That is what i am concerned anytime the govt gets involved at federal level. The little guys dont get the money only the crooks at the top.
It takes a very active and involved people to keep people from misusing funds that should be going to proper strategic uses as michael listed out.
Not to mention the price gouging and corruption of military contractors. Never seen a group so wasteful in my life. Could run a dozen large companies off what they throw away.
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Permalink Reply by Boudicca on
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Michael:
Americans are fed up with wars. The military budget is bloated and is bankrupting us. Perhaps you need to change the name of the GOP to the WAR PARTY. Your neoconism is a big reason why the GOP keeps losing and will continue to lose. Americans don't want an empire. They want Pax Americana, not Pox Americana.
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Permalink Reply by Boudicca on
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America hasn't been invaded since the War of 1812. The purpose of the military is to protect America from foreign invasions and to protect U.S. trade interests. "From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli", the U.S. military has been used to quell pirating on the high seas.
There is no justification whatsoever for a $700 billion defense budget, a budget that you consider grossly inadequate. Tax receipts are about $2.5 trillion (possibly declining because of the crashing economy), you tell me how much money you want for your neocon aspirations and where you intend to find the money? The military is consuming far too much of GDP.
The virtual military state that you envision and advocate for is not in sync with the American voters and what they want. If it was, the GOP wouldn't be the minority partyin the Executive and Legislative branches of the federal government.
The militaristic platform is a lose-lose for the GOP because the American people have no appetite whatsoever for endless warmongering, interventions, foreign occupations and a nation ruled by the military industrial complex.
If you want to win as a conservative, give it up. Find solutions to real problems.
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Permalink Reply by Jim Rock on
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go back and get real numbers and then make a new presentation, if you recall obamas projected "stimulus" of 700 billion is greater than all the money spent on all wars in US history---
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Permalink Reply by Larry Puckette on -
Marlene
know anything about D rings for parachutes?? ;~}
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Permalink Reply by Marlene H. Klim on
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Larry,
Yes, I do. Intimately, you might say.
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Permalink Reply by Jim Rock on
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surprised to see such disrespect for the freedoms you have, first time the Reps have been in power during the installment of war since 1861--so 2 wars out of dozens makes the GOP the war party, so if thats so what is the Dem party-the actuall party of war called? Goofy--there are books at the library to read and we wont have to constatly correct your make beleive history
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Permalink Reply by tyler sims on
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Election is way over...terms like neo con, crazies, and conspiracy theorists get no one to work together to find solutions.
Somewhere in the whole problem is a bunch of discussions we all must have but attacking michael wont help.
People are listening to your points if you just look for smaller steps like 700 billion and 2.5 trillion in receipts.
This is a major discussion to have on this govt is not helping anyone including the military and our security if they have a 3.5X difference in budget vs receipts...yikes!!!!
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