Bush, Top Advisers to Meet on Military's Transformation

AP ^ | 8/7/03 | Will Lester

[Jean S]

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) - President Bush and top military leaders are gathering at his ranch Friday to talk over their efforts to make the U.S. military more mobile and responsive.

Vice President Dick Cheney arrived in Texas on Thursday, ahead of the Friday meeting with Bush, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other military leaders, including Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

They plan to discuss Rumsfeld's plans to transform the military into a sophisticated, lighter force able to mobilize quickly in response to crises around the world.

"They will be talking about the administration's commitment to transform the military to the challenges of the 21st century," said White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan. "They will review broad strategies and priorities, talk about the global war on terrorism, overseas basing and ... the lessons of the Iraqi Freedom operation."

In between clearing brush on his ranch and taking runs, Bush has been meeting with a series of senior advisers on foreign policy.

Secretary of State Colin Powell and Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage were at the ranch Tuesday night and part of Wednesday to talk with Bush about trouble spots around the world, from Liberia to North Korea to the Middle East.

AP-ES-08-07-03 2048EDT

[maui_hawaii]

Hopefully they talk about the evils of having our military technology built overseas.

[FairOpinion]

I am glad to hear that. I think we need transformation and we also need to build the military back up, after Clinton's drastic cuts.

We are winning, but there are a lot of things that are going on in the world, and we need to make sure we have the military power to ensure our security.

[.cnI redruM]

They can transform all they want, but we are still two divisions short if we have to fight N. Korea in a mid-intensity conflict.

[FairOpinion]

"They can transform all they want, but we are still two divisions short if we have to fight N. Korea in a mid-intensity conflict. "

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That was my point as well, we need to "transform", but also to BUILD UP the military to a level appropriate for us as a superpower so we can defend our national security. Clinton all but destroyed it.

[.cnI redruM]

The 7th ID has a full-time HQ element at Ft. Carson and rotates USNG brigades on an annual basis, They could get the 7th up and fully deployable in 18-24 months. The other one is a difficult undertaking, but one we need to bite the bullet on.

[xzins]

Long before the discussion of the "fast and light Army," back in about 1989, I had the privilege of discussing our military with Maj Gen Gary Luck when he made one of his many visits to Ft Campbell, KY. Gen Luck was very involved at the time with Special Ops, and had come to visit the NightStalkers at our installation.

It was a naive question, but I was so impressed with the NightStalkers "little bird" aircraft. I asked Gen Luck something like, "Wouldn't the Army be better if it had a lot of these?"

He replied, "I would want a lot of everything." He went on to explain that there's a time and place for everything from light to heavy. In other words, if you put all your equipment eggs in one basket, then you'll be in the cold when many contingencies arise.

President Bush, I'm a fan and a financial supporter.

Don't put all our eggs, or even most of them, in the "fast and light" equipment basket. Heed the advice of a general who was speaking his mind before this stuff was a political issue.

[FairOpinion]

"He replied, "I would want a lot of everything." He went on to explain that there's a time and place for everything from light to heavy."

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I agree completely. I am sure Rumsfeld and Bush both recognize the wisdom of this statement. I think we got "conditioned" against "fast and light", because those who were trying to dismantle the military used the same words, as an excuse, to cut bakc on the military and the equipment. I think also that we needs lots of everything, including high tech equipments, light and heavy equipment and weapons and lots of people who can handle them.

[psychoknk]

If they want to transform the military to make it more mobile, they should talk to Optimus Prime.