Military fears 'unknown quantity'

[katty]

more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080226/NATION/476716884/1001

Military fears 'unknown quantity'
By Rowan Scarborough
February 26, 2008


Members of Washington's military and defense establishment are expressing trepidation about Sen. Barack Obama, as the Illinois senator comes closer to winning the Democratic presidential nomination and leads in national polls to become commander in chief.

But his backers, including a former Air Force chief of staff, say the rookie senator believes in a strong military, and with it, a larger Army and Marine Corps.

"Any military person who concludes he's a left-wing, hair-on-fire, Kumbaya child of the '60s has sadly misunderestimated him, to use George Bush's term," said retired Gen. Merrill McPeak.


Still, the mostly conservative retired officers, industry executives and current defense officials interviewed by The Washington Times cite Mr. Obama's lack of experience in national security.

[bemildred]

1. So, is this a known unknown or an unknown unknown?

I guess some parties don't want "change".

[leftofcool]

2. Obama

is too young to have been a Kumbaya child of the Sixties. I have shoes older than he is and his hair isn't even gray yet. GWB is an idiot!

Left of Cool

[Lasher]

3. More military spending, yay!

Lord knows we're not spending enough on our military. Right now we're barely spending as much as the rest of the world combined. What could possibly be more worthy of funding than making our standing military bigger?

Surely I won't need this but I'll throw it in anyway:

:sarcasm:

[groovedaddy]

4. How scared are you? Do we need more "protection?"

The Military Industrial Complex comes a court'n!

[Demeter]

5. The Only Thing the Military Has To Fear Is Bush and Bush Imitators

and Bush heirs, and Bush wannabes, and Bushbots.

Anything else has GOT to be an improvement.

Unless there's a wealth of coruption and graft to root out. Like in the VA, for example. Or Blackwater and KBR/Halliburton. Or Procurement and Recruitment. And Guantanamo.


Such a lot of little slimy rocks that have already been turned over or at least peeked under!

[mwb970]

6. Right on!

If they don't fear the next 11 months, they'll have no worries afterwards.

[Diclotican]

7. katty

katty

It was the military spending, and a bad industry base who killed USSR in the long run... And now America need more than the rest of the world, combined to be secure?.. How many billions should go into the military complex before US are secured??:..

And for the record, after mr Bush who have almost killed the US forces I would hope that US was to send home some soldiers, and to help train them who are not injured or maimed for life.. The fact is that even in the ww2 the soldiers seldom was in fight more than 21 days and then with some time off in allied land.. Now they are in Iraq and Afghanistan for a long time, and never have the opportunity to get help, or wind down... Because the armed forces are strict to thinn...

If it is so bad, why not institute the DRAFT then?. So everyone are given a fair Chance to go into a war... And then I mean EVERYONE, not just the working class with no connection.. What we don't need are any more GWBs..

But I am just a foreigner, and don't have a clue what happened in US... :sarcasm:

Diclotican

Sorry my bad English, not my native language

[katty]

8. concur with your view-a Draft is 'fair', our troops are

so overworked, overwrought, partially crippled or crippled for life and suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and then all the Iraqi's that have been killed, crippled, displaced---IF a new president wants MORE troops there has to be a draft (then we will have a 2nd Revolution here)--we have no one left to send over-we hardly have any National Guard in the U.S.--the whole situation is sheer insanity.
As for more billions going into the Military...from where?

[Diclotican]

13. katty

katty

If US was to be seated in Iraq for many, many more year, I believe that a draft is the only way to get the work going.. It is unfair that voluntary should be plagued for the rest of their life, when others, who claim to be supporters of this thing are not voluntary to the force, and even try to hide back a false pretext of "patriotism": If them are so gun-ho army, why not step into the recruiting office and sign up for a longer duty?:.

I hope you get a 2nd revolution.. This system of your is in mortal danger of going totally corrupt, and if you don't doing something - like a revolution to try to fix what is wrong in US, you may lose it all to right wing extremist.. I know not allot of american spsyke, but I do believe for the most part american are honest hardworking, who in the end are doing the right thing.. Even if it means doing some hard choices.. The founding fathers of your nation would have wept if they was to know what happed to your country lately.. I believe they should even be outraged what append to your country in the name of "national security": What you really need are some Benjamin Franklin, some other who was gig ants in their own lifetime.. And still are today... You are in deer need of president like FDR, or an Eisenhower who have the courage to try to fight what is wrong.. Yes I know mr Eisenhower was maybe not that big a hero, and no liberal, but hey, compared to this maniac who own the white house today, you must admit, he was almost a perfect President...

Diclotican

Sorry my bad English, not my native language

[katty]

14. I hear you loud & clear and

thank you for your comments. We must take the majority of our troops out of Iraq-they created an "embassy" there and career diplomats have refused to be stationed in Iraq-and for good reasons! The next president must make Iraq their first priority-if they want more troops they will have a huge battle with the Democratic congress over that and quite a few on the Republican side as well. Yes, it would be great to have another FDR or a pragmatic Eisenhower, these presidents were statesmen. Hillary and Barack are smart, qualified candidates-and I am grateful they even want to take over this job-it will be a huge task after the mess bush has made. As an American, I am so embarrassed and deeply sad that we have arrived at this perilous juncture. I do sense that a Democrat will win the November election and then the real work begins.

[Forrest Greene]

9. Yeah

Sure wouldn't want any ideas with their hair on fire.

Once, when I was in school -- during the Big Kumbaya Scare -- I was walking down the hall with my shirt untucked from my trousers. It just felt comfortable.

It wasn't the school, it was the principal of the thing who came up to me & ordered me to tuck it in.

"But it's just a shirt, pulled out," I said.

"Yeah, and you could run down the hall painted blue & naked, too," he said. "Tuck it in."

Well, I couldn't argue with logic like that, could I? So I guess we'd better not be having any ideas with their shirts untucked, either.

[MasonJar]

10. And let's see. hmmmmmmm, W had no foreign policy. He in fact had never been

out of the country...at 50+ years old, but he sure has taken up the traveling challenge on our dollar. In addition, Bush did not even know the name of the leader of Pakistan...obviously not capable or not willing to do even a little studying.

[iaviate1]

11. WTF do we need such a large military for?

And why should Dems support a candidate who wants a LARGER military?!?

[Joe Chi Minh]

12. Yes, Obama certainly lacks the 'sine qua non' of Republican politics

a record of extensive, throughgoing recidivism?