ratcheting up the fear level when someone threatens to turn off the money tap!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/us/pol...TE&ei=5043

Quote:WASHINGTON — The Pentagon pushed back aggressively on Wednesday against what senior officials warned was the prospect of $1 trillion in military budget cuts and thousands of layoffs, furloughs and reductions in military programs over the next decade.

Less than 24 hours after President Obama signed a debt-ceiling bill calling for trillions of dollars in reduced government spending, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and top Pentagon officials said that large cuts to the Pentagon budget — which has more than doubled since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — would imperil the nation’s security.

In a letter to Defense Department personnel posted Wednesday morning on the Pentagon’s Web site, Mr. Panetta warned that if a Congressional panel could not reach agreement on cuts to the nation’s deficit, “it could trigger a round of dangerous across-the-board defense cuts that would do real damage to our security, our troops and their families, and our ability to protect the nation.”

It is the trillions being pissed away on military spending which is already imperiling the nation's security.

Want to protect your nation: maintain wars only on a single or at most a double front. The US military is in a large number of minor conflicts across the world that it is gaining nothing from... and stretched thin it costs more and takes more damage as a whole.

I would mention a recent Navy Times article that points out the US Navy has more combat vessels than the next thirteen navies in the world combined. Navies are expensive to maintain and build. There is also a military saying that goes "The world's most expensive hobby is having the world's second best Navy."

That said, a naval force in a general war is not the same as an army. For the most part, in a war, you can induct millions of soldiers if necessary, but generally you only have the ships you started the war with. Because of the length of time it takes to make combat vessels, few replacements will come on line for any ships damaged or sunk during a war (note WWII - neither the US Navy nor the Imperial Japanese Navy significantly added replacements to the number of combat vessels after combat started - ignoring the Japanese sinking of the USS Panay which occured four years before the USA entered WWII, in 1937 https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e...y_incident

At the time the Imperial Japanese Navy destroyed the USS Panay (PR-5), the US Government was keen on not entering WW2 against Imperial Japan. Our navy was not ready for such combat. Japan had a proven-in-combat aircraft carrier fleet. Note in 1937, the Japanese destroyed the Panay using aircraft. (The Wikipedia article above includes a link to a newsreel made during the attack, showing the Japanese attack on the ship.)

We already knew of the destructive power of naval aircraft, but it takes a long time to build an aircraft carrier. At the start of WW2, we only had three fleet carriers, versus the six Japanese carriers that attacked Pearl Harbor.

I served aboard the USS Saratoga (CV-60) from 1994 to 1995, which had been laid down before the start of WW2 hostilities for the USA, but only commissioned in the final months of WW2. It was decommissioned in 1994. Once built, we don't really want to throw them away, either, because of the expense and time of building them. - James.

Quote:but generally you only have the ships you started the war with.

True enough for the Japanese. However, we had begun the R & D for Essex class carriers and Iowa class battleships by 1939. When war broke out, instead of 10 ships we ordered 30.

The Japanese built one carrier from the keel up..the Taiho, and even that was started before the war began. Industrially, the Japanese were not match. Oddly, they knew that and attacked Pearl Harbor anyway. Interesting psychology there.

The major majority of Americans (nearly everyone I personally know, regardless of political party) do not want our troops fucking around in foreign countries.

And yet, Washington can't seem to get enough war. Those sleazebag politicians just refuse to leave the rest of the world alone even though the overwhelming populace of this country would prefer to mind our own god damn business.

It just lights my mother fucking boiler!

In truth the USA is not the world police ..... it's just Washington DC ... and it's self-appointed! Fuckers!



I probably shouldn't read this thread anymore. I'm clearly losin it.

Yea, the US can afford to trim a little fat from the military budget.

(August 3, 2011 at 10:39 pm)Minimalist Wrote: ratcheting up the fear level when someone threatens to turn off the money tap!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/us/pol...TE&ei=5043

Quote:WASHINGTON — The Pentagon pushed back aggressively on Wednesday against what senior officials warned was the prospect of $1 trillion in military budget cuts and thousands of layoffs, furloughs and reductions in military programs over the next decade.

Less than 24 hours after President Obama signed a debt-ceiling bill calling for trillions of dollars in reduced government spending, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and top Pentagon officials said that large cuts to the Pentagon budget — which has more than doubled since the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — would imperil the nation’s security.

In a letter to Defense Department personnel posted Wednesday morning on the Pentagon’s Web site, Mr. Panetta warned that if a Congressional panel could not reach agreement on cuts to the nation’s deficit, “it could trigger a round of dangerous across-the-board defense cuts that would do real damage to our security, our troops and their families, and our ability to protect the nation.”

It is the trillions being pissed away on military spending which is already imperiling the nation's security.

Security huh? Last time I checked that involved defense, not killing children with Drone attacks....

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(August 4, 2011 at 12:17 am)popeyespappy Wrote: Yea, the US can afford to trim a little fat from the military budget.

Now factor in spending per capita between the US and China and watch that disparity triple!

Sometimes I feel like Washington, D.C. is another country.

Quote:Security huh? Last time I checked that involved defense, not killing children with Drone attacks....

If you think you are going to get an argument about that from me, you're wrong.

(August 4, 2011 at 12:36 am)Minimalist Wrote:

Quote:Security huh? Last time I checked that involved defense, not killing children with Drone attacks....

If you think you are going to get an argument about that from me, you're wrong.

Nope, just commentary on the pentagon's comments