Posted on 02/18/2018 5:27:47 AM PST by Leaning Right
Is our military budget too small, or is our mission too large? Since 2001, the U.S. military budget has more than doubled in nominal terms and grown over 37% accounting for inflation. The U.S. spends more than the next eight countries combined.
It’s really hard to argue that our military is underfunded, so perhaps our mission has grown too large. That mission includes being currently involved in combat operations in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Somalia, Niger, Libya, and Yemen. We have troops in over 50 of 54 African countries. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost over a trillion dollars and lasted for over 15 years.
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Isolationism, or common sense?
Stupidity because Paul argues as if he could shake a wand and make a choice. We can’t pull out of those countries on a dime. We have treaties and are embedded. POTUS has started the ball rolling for the countries we protect to start paying part of the bill. In the meantime we need to have the resources to protect America.
Rand Paul often takes positions that are rational but only if you are talking about making a society from scratch. Perhaps he is a voice worth hearing but more in the sense of what we should keep in mind rather than policy that can be implemented.
I wonder what an honest, independent outside audit of the US Military would show. Readiness in manpower, material, and weapon systems? Leadership?. Training? Procurement? Clandestine ops? Cash flow? Then again could we handle the truth?
Of course we can. Contracts change all the time. Nor do we have treaties with every country that we have troops in.
This is purely foreign welfare. We simply don't have the money to keep the seas open for the Chinese, or to subsidize the shipment of oil from the ME.
The military is definitely underfunded. Make the mission smaller, I’m OK with that. But increase the budget and get us back to where we should be.
I wonder what an honest, independent outside audit of the US Military would show. Readiness in manpower, material, and weapon systems? Leadership?. Training? Procurement? Clandestine ops? Cash flow? Then again could we handle the truth?
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That the Pentagon has never had a full audit speaks volumes. What sorts of graft, misdirection of funds, and outright theft might be occurring when no oe has been watching the multi-billion dollar cookie jar.
The military has a massive budget. Between fraud, waste, overlapping missions between the services, and us being places we shouldn’t be (please explain to me why we still have bases in Germany), we are spending way more than we should be.
And you need to learn - stay focused - who did this, who really ramped up the DC crony capitalist contracting racket - why George Bush and Dick Cheney.
The Army has hand grenades, but no recruits strong enough to throw them.
As I said in my post above, the first place to look for excess funds is the bloated contractor base in DC.
Move our troops from Germany to Poland - reducing costs and letting Putin know we are moving forward, not leaving. Make the Kurds and Israel our official military allies in the Middle East; move our bases in Turkey to Iraqi Kurdistan, letting the mullahs in Tehran know we are moving forward not leaving; and move our Navy to ports in Israel from the Persian Gulf - telling the Gulf States and the Saudis to get Navies of their own to defend their oil shipping lanes. Move our 39,000 troops out of Japan to South Korea and the Philippines - more forward with the Norks and telling Japan to beef itself up.
Yeah, the Navy that can't steer straight. CNO ADM Richardson was a hotshot submarine officer. I would love to have been a fly on the wall when he found out about that incompetence. There are probably dents in his walls from the flying objects that missed.
IMO, the military budget is TOO SMALL. If we want peace, prepare for war. The stronger, best trained our military is, the best equipped they are, the less likely some potential enemy will want to confront us. What we also need is additional, better educated military leadership so when a war becomes immanent, we can/will prevail.
Absolutely agree
We need to leave those decisions about timing to the President & his Generals. Only they have the facts about the situation on the ground.
We simply don't have the money to keep the seas open for the Chinese, or to subsidize the shipment of oil from the ME.
I sincerely doubt if those items are our function, purpose or aim. Middle East peace would be a big deal for America's saftey. For the first time under President Trump that is becoming a reality and it is possible because those Nations trust America to be a stable partner, a belief which your plan would sacrifice. Abrogating our commitments would squander irretrievably developments that will save many lives & most likely lead to the end of Islamic terrorism. The Arabs and Middle East countries are taking ownership of that issue, bringing their countries into more modern societies removing the rigid cultural drives toward fanaticism.
What of genocide? Do you propose to step aside? Once those peoples are dead there is no bringing them back. What about NK, should we cease protecting our allies in the region and let NK become a Nuclear power. That attitude on the part of the UK brought us WWII.
POTUS is pressuring NATO to assume more of the burden monetarily & with troops but that is a process not an on off switch. It's easy to armchair coach but POTUS is sworn to protect & defend the USA and makes his decisions with that weighty responsibility on his shoulders. He is balancing costs, risks and benefits based on information neither you nor I are privy too. Rand Paul too does not have the information or the breadth of vision to be making calls. There needs to be one CIC or we have chaos and America suffers.
No need to wonder
http://index.heritage.org/military/2017/assessments/us-military-power/
A summery of their findings “weak/marginal”.
Unfortunately when the enemy operates in your own country, you need to be able to project power into theirs. Our own defense against outside influence into our society is the enemy knowing that at any given time we can throw them an a$$ whooping the likes they never saw.
Problem is due to our treaties we provide support for our allies and it’s them who suffer most from the outside influence.
Yes... but: Didn't you find it a bit strange that we slowly discovered how Obama was involving us in low level conflicts all over Africa... the same Obama who campaigned for Raoul Odinga?
Thank you for the link !
common sense
stop stirring up foreign monsters
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