Budget Constraints at Pentagon Could Affect National Security

More money needed to fight the last war

We need to dump yet more money to keep the military in old toys, like us at the start of WW2 keeping battleships that were useless and the Russians having a plethora of worthless tanks. Rumsfeld was right, the military are arrogant, self-serving ninnies!

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There doesn't seem to be much reason to our defense/aggression policies. Could probably save megabucks.

1. We have 10,000 nuclear devices, so we need not fear conventional aggression.

2. NATO is a relic of the cold war. Why we commit ourselves to defend innumerable nations who offer nothing for our benefit is perplexing. In the case of conflicts such as Gulf I, we have to form ad hoc alliances anyway since NATO was designed to defend against the no longer existent Soviet Union. I believe George Washington stated this very well about avoiding entangling alliances and forming ad hoc alliances as needed.

3. Our problems with Moslems and terrorism result mostly from AIPAC influence in Congress and the resulting one-sided and unfair policies in the Middle East. More of an influence problem than a military one. George Washington gave great guidance on this subject also.

Washington's Farewell Address 1796

"So likewise, a passionate attachment of one nation for another produces a variety of evils. Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing into one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into a participation in the quarrels and wars of the latter without adequate inducement or justification. It leads also to concessions to the favorite nation of privileges denied to others which is apt doubly to injure the nation making the concessions; by unnecessarily parting with what ought to have been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill-will, and a disposition to retaliate, in the parties from whom equal privileges are withheld. And it gives to ambitious, corrupted, or deluded citizens (who devote themselves to the favorite nation), facility to betray or sacrifice the interests of their own country, without odium, sometimes even with popularity; gilding, with the appearances of a virtuous sense of obligation, a commendable deference for public opinion, or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolish compliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation."

4. The big security problem relating to terrorism is without doubt Washington holding the borders open to bring in millions of illegal aliens along with whoever else wants to get in the country, including thousands of illegals from terrorist countries. I'm a bit dubious about chamberpot immigration also. Many of the new immigrants I've talked to like from Iran, Haiti, and South America hate the US and come here solely to make money.

5. Fighting the unnecessary was in Iraq may have been partly a result of spending too much money on "defense." People who are naturally bullies and control freaks like Cheney and Rumsfeld start thinking in terms of "we're the only world's superpower" and can take over the Middle East in a series of Blitzkrieg attacks.

6. Do we really need to be the "policeman of the world"?

Piece by Piece

obammy is stripping us one section at a time on all ends of our defense. He does this verbally and physically. Our enemies must be in their glory that Bush is gone and we have this windbag of a president doing everything in his power to help them.

God help us.

DOD needs to get out of the Sustainment business

The DOD is very good at national / international strategy & security - very good at fighting - very good at logistics operations - and very BAD at business - especially the sustainment business (engineering, maintenance and supply chain management - and especially bad at business IT).

The Army and Navy have been designing and implementing an ERP system for almost a decade - yes that is 10 years - the Air Force got a late start - probably smart - so they're only on year three.

None of these systems will ever be completed - and of corse no corporation would knowingly plan and pay to implement multiple ERP systems that can't work together - although that is exactly what the DOD is doing.

Actually you can multiply the IT cost of sustainment by three or four for each weapons system - since each prime contractor and each sub has their own ERP / Sustainment system running in parallel to the DOD's systems - which the DOD pays to have the prime run.

Yes - I know it sounds rediculous but that's the "business" of the DOD.

DOD should get out of the Sustainment IT business and out of Sustainment - airlines effectively and efficiently outsource maintenance, UPS or FedEx could provide logistics services and the IT for tracking supplies better, faster and quicker than the DOD could ever do - so outsource logistics to them - but of course this requires Congress and the Administration to change laws and the DOD and component services to admit their "alcholism" - what they are good at and what they are not.

Carter...the sequel

I'm nearly 50 and have seen most of this scenario before. As ashamed as I am, I actually voted for Jimmy Carter. At the time he seemed to have a younger, more hip attitude and of course that lovely Democratic ole time religion of universal peace love and someone else's money. I was young and stupid and found out really quick as I saw the USA at it's lowest point since um...now.

After Iran took American Hostages (the very same GUY Obama is playing nice to) , we couldn't even mount a rescue mission because our helicopters weren't capable of flying across the desert.

Obama/Pelosi/Reid thinking may be back "in-style" but it doesn't make it a "good idea".