[sam_paine]

I suspect we knew the hour they weighed anchor, the names of the captains and what they had for breakfast on the first day out.

One word: Fallujah I. Or Vietnam. etc.

Our forces are only as good as they are allowed to be.

I have no reason to suspect that our rules-of-engagement and wargames and cold-war tactics have not been scuttled into an incoherent fetal position in the same way our diplomatic positions now slobber at the feet of tyrants.

I, like justmythoughts, have more confidence in the claims of a Russian propaganda outlet than I do in our current Commander in Chief.

[Just mythoughts]

And the Secretary of State who is want to get herself into screaming matches over how big her muscles are.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Yesterday's WSJ reports the airborne laser project budget was gutted by Obama, even though it had made a perfect strike on its latest try. As far as the subs are concerned, we have too many pre-obama sea-wolves on duty and on deck for this capacity to be frittered away.

[Clara Lou]

I, like justmythoughts, have more confidence in the claims of a Russian propaganda outlet than I do in our current Commander in Chief.
Obama certainly creates doubt in my mind, as well. But I still want to know-- is the article factual, or is it propaganda? I prefer not to base my thoughts and opinions on propaganda.

[ThunderSleeps]

I, like justmythoughts, have more confidence in the claims of a Russian propaganda outlet than I do in our current Commander in Chief.

I'm with you two (too)... If obama and crew said don't worry, we have it under control - I'd worry. The Russians may be right. We may not have detected them at all. Not for lack of technical and tactical capability, but for lack of leadership cojones. In the past, throughout the cold war, there has been a lot of hand-wringing over collisions between US and Russian subs. (read "Blind Man's Bluff") The hand-wringing is particularly evident when a liberal 'rat is sitting in the oval office. Would not surprise me at all if obama, the tactically-challenged-in-chief issued ROE to the Navy that are as 'stupid' as the ROE in Afghanistan.

You know that in Afghanistan, US forces cannot engage an enemy if there are any civilians present, period. I think I even read something about having to sling their weapons... It is the ultimate expression of Viet-Nam idiocy. Now the enemy need not flee across a national border to be "off limits" they merely have to have a civilian nearby/handy...or even someone that looks like a civilian.

Anyway, wouldn't surprise me if the Navy had been forbidden by odummer to do any more "close-in trails."