Posted on 10/28/2009 6:42:28 PM PDT by Steelfish
Victory for Obama Over Military Lobby
CHRISTOPHER DREW October 28, 2009
When the Obama administration proposed canceling a host of expensive weapons systems last spring, some of the military industry’s allies in Congress assumed, as they had in the past, that they would have the final say.
But as the president signed a $680 billion military policy bill on Wednesday, it was clear that he had succeeded in paring back nearly all of the programs and setting a tone of greater restraint than the Pentagon had seen in many years.
Now the question is whether Mr. Obama can sustain that push next year, when the midterm elections are likely to make Congress more resistant to further cuts and job losses.
White House officials say Mr. Obama took advantage of a rare political moment to break through one of Washington’s most powerful lobbies and trim more weapons systems than any president had in decades.
Rahm Emanuel, the White House chief of staff, said Wednesday that the plan was to threaten a veto over a prominent program — in this case, the F-22 fighter jet — “to show we were willing to expend political capital and could win on something that people thought we could not.”
Once the Senate voted in July to stop buying F-22s, Mr. Emanuel said in an interview, that success “reverberated down” to help sustain billions of dollars of cuts in Army modernization, missile defense and other programs.
Mr. Emanuel said the strategy emerged when the defense secretary, (snip)
And Senator John McCain of Arizona, the former Republican presidential candidate, who has criticized the Pentagon’s cost overruns, provided Mr. Obama with political cover to make the cuts without being seen as soft on the military.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
All part of the plan. Destroy the military so we’re helpless against the invading muslims.
He's weakening America militarily and economically in one fell swoop.
And yet this is they guy who runs up the largest yearly deficit in the history of the country.
Ping.
This communist crypto-muslim does nothing but.
Reap, Sow.
So basically he’s reducing spending on things that are constitutional to spend money on unconstitutional.
Can the NY Slimes slobber over the president any more? Disgusting.
Wow. Who could have seen this coming? </s>
It already cost mine.
Now wasnt that nice of Mr. McCain?
buy the newspaper, list the advertisers, and post to boycott their businesses. the will not have a venue soon.
Why is it that McCain's name always pops up when something bad happens?
The list, ping
Confirming yet one more time that Zero is on the opposing team.
Ouch. Sorry to hear that - Boeing is opening a plant in N. Carolina, might be worth looking into...
McPain seems to go out of his way to help 0 quite often. Even during the Presidential election campaign.
This is a replay of Clinton, he decreased DOD spending and increased just about everything else. We will see how this works out over the next few years.
Only one department of government is being cut. The hated miliatary, for 50 years a target of the lunatic left Democrats. And yes, that dim wit McCain and his butt boy Lindsey Graham helped provide cover. Emperor Obama has not the slightest interest in saving money as shown in his other programs, but he has great interest in neutering the military and playing golf and traveling the globe while Americans die waiting on his new policy for Afghanistan.
The article is right: Obama and his arm, the NYT, consider it a victory whenever they weaken `Amerika’.
Wait till NYC is attacked again....I doubt that DC will be attacked....at least not until after 2012
McCain is evil. When he rejected John Hagee’s endorsement I knew something was up. But the dumb ass made a big mistake. He introduced Sarah to the world! As usual, the devil overplayed his hand. hee hee
Huh? We spend $654 billion in FY2009 and $680 billion in FY2010 and that's a reduction?
If you are a fighter pilot and you aren't deployed you are riding the pine. In the Navy they are calling 11 hours a month the "tactical hard deck." In reality it means a U.S. strike fighter pilot that is going to drop bombs in Afghanistan next year is flying less than a Chinese Su-27 pilot in a peace time setting.
Change you can make believe in.
And Senator John McCain of Arizona, the former Republican presidential candidate, who has criticized the Pentagon’s cost overruns, provided Mr. Obama with political cover to make the cuts without being seen as soft on the military.
Now wasn't that nice of Mr. McCain?
Isn't it nice of McLame to carry the water?!
I’ve been hearing that Obama will be “paying” (bribing)off the Taliban on my local talk radio show tonight. I knew about the Italians doing this but have you heard anything about this today?
“US to pay Taliban to switch sides”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8329129.stm
“The US military in Afghanistan is to be allowed to pay Taliban fighters who renounce violence against the government in Kabul.
The move is included in a defence bill which President Obama has signed...”
Found it:
“President Obama on Wednesday signed a $680 billion defense appropriations bill, which will pay for military operations in the 2010 fiscal year. The bill includes a Taliban reintegration provision under the Commander’s Emergency Response Program, which is now receiving $1.3 billion. CERP funding also is intended for humanitarian relief and reconstruction projects at commanders’ discretion”
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/28/afghanistan.taliban.pay/index.html
Found it:
“President Obama on Wednesday signed a $680 billion defense appropriations bill, which will pay for military operations in the 2010 fiscal year. The bill includes a Taliban reintegration provision under the Commander’s Emergency Response Program, which is now receiving $1.3 billion. CERP funding also is intended for humanitarian relief and reconstruction projects at commanders’ discretion”
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/10/28/afghanistan.taliban.pay/index.html
ping
I seem to remember another Democrat President who pissed off the military-industrial complex. He died in Dallas.
Do you feel safer?
Is this the military budget? If so, hasn’t it been quite a while since the military budget didn’t have the word “trillion” in it?
Please correct me if i’m reading this wrong.
BTTT
Funkin’ Obama
I pray he REAPS very very soon for the sake of America and her people. This obvious America destroyer is a runaway train and a steamroller all at once. I really pray that America rises up while she still can. CO
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