Posted on 02/06/2018 3:21:46 PM PST by mandaladon
President Trump’s vision of soldiers marching and tanks rolling down the boulevards of Washington is moving closer to reality in the Pentagon and White House, where officials say they have begun to plan a grand military parade later this year showcasing the might of America’s armed forces.
Trump has long mused publicly and privately about wanting such a parade, but a Jan. 18 meeting between Trump and top generals in the Pentagon’s tank — a room reserved for top secret discussions — marked a tipping point, according to two officials briefed on the planning.
Surrounded by the military’s highest ranking officials, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Joe Dunford, Trump’s seemingly abstract desire for a parade was suddenly heard as a presidential directive, the officials said.
“The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,” said a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the planning discussions are supposed to remain confidential. “This is being worked at the highest levels of the military.”
American shows of military strength don’t come cheap. The cost of shipping Abrams tanks and high-tech hardware to Washington could run in the millions, and military officials said it was unclear how they would pay for it.
A White House official familiar with the planning described the discussions as “brainstorming” and said nothing is settled. “Right now there’s really no meat on the bones,” said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Yes my only experience with these kinds of parades was in Russia. Can you explain your point of view? I know France does them...
Is there a precedent from our history? What did our founders think of such displays? Is the prophet Isaiah warning against them?
LOL!!! Yeah man! Across the chest like the WW2 guys did.
So you believe spending millions of dollars from a defense budget that's already stressed to nearly the breaking point is "exactly the right thing to do?" How about spending that money on needed parts for combat aircraft and other combat equipment?
I'm one of the strongest Trump supporter's you'll ever meet but I don't see the point of staging a huge, very costly parade at the expense of our military. Trump would risk comparisons to Kim Jon Un or his Soviet predecessors' parades in Red Square. How will this persuade Democrats vote increases to the defense budget?
You are correct, which is why I don't believe a word of it. Amazing how many folks here are ready to believe a fake news WaPo anonymous source.
“...might as well use those resources to round up all the swamp dwellers in one fell swoop.”
Nah. Go block-busting and purge D.C. of all vestiges of MS-13. They could begin by rooting out the sympathizers at the Rayburn House Office building.
They have updated the story with a confirmation from the White House.
“After The Washington Post first published this story, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement confirming that plans are underway.”
Nothing like a show of strength and patriotism to piss them libs off....;-}
What president hasn't done that?
The Pentagon has confirmed that the planning is underway at the President's request.
-PJ
A .22 or a 9 mm would be sufficient to give the eunuchs of the media the vapors. Maybe even an air rifle.
I’ve always thought that a military component on the 4th would be a great idea. I vaguely recall from my childhood that there used to be somewhat more of a military presence on the 4th, although it wasn’t on a grand scale. But it could be grander!
Wow! That’s great - so many places are so intimidated by the reigning anti-Americanism now (in our own country!) that they have only tiny Veteran’s Day celebrations. But I do recall that, even in NYC where I grew up, there used to be very nice parades...no Indians, though, alas!
BTW, if you haven’t seen the movie Hostiles, go see it! It deals with a professional military man amidst the chaos of the Old West but it includes a very rational portrait of the Indian peoples too. And it’s beautiful, a true Western with great scenes of wide open spaces and lots of horses - and guns.
Twitter is way ahead of you: Link
If he wants a parade to watch people in uniform march by, let him go to West Point or Annapolis in a few months for the graduation ceremonies. They are right up the road, and would not cost untold millions of dollars that he and Congress keep telling us we don't have.
And if he wants to honor the military then spend an hour or two wandering around Arlington.
“Would rather watch a U.S. Military parade than the super bowl”
Post of the week!
“The marching orders were: I want a parade like the one in France,”
Q. Why are the streets in Paris tree lined?
A. So the German army can march in the shade..
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