The defense spending “debate” seems to be devolving into a race to the bottom. With trillion-dollar deficits as far as the eye can see—and a collision with the debt ceiling scheduled in less than two weeks—panicky politicians are coalescing around a simple yet dangerous idea: doubling-down—perhaps even tripling-down—on …
Congress
$56 Billion to Rebuild Afghanistan (So Far): The Whole Kit & Kabul-Dole
Remember how you doled out allowances to your kids, trying to teach them the value of a quarter before moving on to a dollar? (OK — I was cheap.) Check out this chart from a Thursday report from the Government Accountability Office: direct payments to Afghanistan from Washington more than tripled between 2009 and 2010 with …
“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” History in 60 Days
Charlie Moskos, the nation’s most pre-eminent military sociologist and the architect of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” is dead. So is Les Aspin, who as a defensive defense secretary battling the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” official Pentagon policy in 1994. Friday, “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” will join those two men – …
“Hands Off Our B-1 Bombers, Air Force!”
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When Congress steps in to block the Air Force from retiring some of its bombers, you know the world has been turned upside down. The Air Force loves its bombers! Don’t you remember Dr. Strangelove and Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper? But now the Air Force believes it is time to …
Stand By to Stand By
This is all getting very confusing. Within the past few weeks there have been some major developments in the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal process, all of which I have failed to mention here. Each turn in events has had its own reason for staying out of my blog, and I’m not going to use my packed schedule as an excuse.
Earlier this …
Vietnam’s Ghosts: Still Alive in the U.S. Government
There is really nothing new in the war game, as Haunting Legacy: Vietnam and the American Presidency from Ford to Obama by the father-daughter team of Marvin and Deborah Kalb makes clear. It could hardly be more timely, as America and its leaders grapple with the challenges posed by Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya – all at once. The …
Ping-Pong? No, Just The Latest Ruling on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
Late Friday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals bowed to the wishes of the Obama Justice Department and said the Pentagon could continue its all-but-gone enforcement of the ban on gay men and women serving openly in the U.S. military. This on-again, off-again life of the 17-year old “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law has everyone pretty …
Don’t Ask…About “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell…”
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…because it is getting really confusing, as I tried to detail Wednesday night on the PBS NewsHour, along with Aubrey Sarvis of the Servicemembers Legal Defense …
Pentagon Budget: Tug-Of-War-Spending Continues
Speaking of Pentagon budget cuts: word from inside the Defense Department is that President Obama’s proposed $400 billion in “security” cuts over “12” years — those words in quotes because “security” is squishy and the Pentagon talks in five- and 10-year terms — may only be a “down payment.”
Though the new bogey for cuts is …
What Price American Leadership?
Dueling items Thursday morning over the U.S.’s proper place in the world, and how much the nation should be willing to invest in maintaining it.
On Time’s Curious Capitalist blog, veteran Asia hand Michael Schuman wonders:
Why the War Machine Keeps on Running
Villefranche, France.
The United States has always meddled in other people’s affairs. For those readers who think this statement is an exaggeration, I urge them to peruse the chronology of interventions compiled by the Congressional Research Service. This historical predilection for meddling, however, grew enormously in depth and …
Barring Women From Combat: “This Last Vestige of Paternalism”
In 1993, I was involved in the Navy’s transition of women from non-combatant ships to combatant ships — from support craft like oilers and salvage vessels, to warships like destroyers and cruisers, in other words. Newly-elected President Clinton and his defense secretary, Les Aspin, determined — after the success of women in …
Rumsfeld Redux: He Doesn’t Get It
Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld emerged from the woodwork last week to warn Leon Panetta not to do the wrong thing. He should know; his stewardship of DOD was an almost unmitigated laundry list (should we say “snowflakes”?) of wrong things.
But I wouldn’t recommend Panetta take his advice. Rumsfeld has no idea of how to …