Talk:Defense
From Pete Ashdown Campaign Collaboration Wiki
Since this one came up, I've been grappling with the idea for weeks. The military seems to be on the cutting edge of technology with more than enough budget to research everything from image recognition to robotic soldiers. If there are any military, ex-military, or military experts who can fill in the blanks as to what exactly is needed and not being addressed currently, it would help for crafting a position.--pashdown 23:42, 17 March 2006 (MST)
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[edit] too much!
Look, we have some 750+ military bases scattered around the world. There is no country able to threaten us militarily. Let's stop spending this craziness and start supporting US domestic issues.
-the doc-
from vanFrank. I think you seriously need to address this business of pre-emptive war. Our Judeo-Christian ethic clearly states that the ends never, ever, justifies the means. This then is a gross violation of our most sacred purpose as a people and as a nation. The stupid braggadocio of our present leaders seems to have clearly forgotten the first lessons we learned on our Elementary School plagrounds about bullies. Don't warn, just hit the SOB square in the mouth (Or better the nose, a nosebleed is awfully hard to respond to) as hard as you can. Bush's claim that we reserve the right to --blah, blah, blah -- merely invites any other nation to take us out with no warning with a devestating nuclear attack. Why not? When is some idiotic American president going to put them in America's crosshairs. Think Russia, think China, think Pakistan, think any coward with a suitcase bomb easily smuggled into any one of our undefended ports. Hatch, of course as the mouthpiece for the cabal running things, will attempt to phoo-phoo this. or any other serious subject with his inside information - classified of course. You could creat a great theme out of that big-shot classified palaver if you've the gonads to play that game with him. Guaranteed, you won't win any othe way than by making him the all knowing Beltway slob he is.
[edit] DefenseWatch
Someone posted a link[1] a couple months ago that talked about soldiers in Iraq not being allowed to wear their non-issue body armor (which was provably superior to the military issue stuff). The site also seems to have other related (possibly interesting) articles[2].
[2] http://www.sftt.org/main.cfm?actionId=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=cmpDefense&htmlCategoryID=0
- I fear this is the result of bad planning and poor spending priorities, rather than the result of under funding. Federal spending for the armed forces is really high, compared to every other country in the world. I refer you to Ben Cohen's Oreo animation. Dilvie 11:37, 25 March 2006 (MST)
- Nice link. I was posting this more as an example of things that aren't being addressed well, not evidence that our government doesn't spend enough on defense. Note that soldiers were ordered to leave their non-issue armor at home (even though it is better armor), which puts soldiers in greater danger.
- I like the idea of shifting focus from high expense projects to troop issues. Anyone have figures on what the joint strike fighter costs vs. troop and humvee armor? An IED costs under $500, does a $4B aircraft carrier help save lives against that type of weapon?
[edit] Affordable sufficient protection
I served with the military for over 20 years. I believe in a strong able military. We need the resources to protect ourselves and lend aid to those in need. While we conduct this operation, we must keep in mind the cost to our current citizenship as well as those who will follow. How long will it take to pay the multi-trillion dollar debt being created? How much more debt are we willing to accept and pass on to future generations? We must help those that we can help, but is it an intelligent or fiscally responsible decision to do so at the cost we incur daily? The American people have a right as well as a responsibility to help decide how much we can afford. Making a stand and voicing an opinion is not anti-American, it is the American way. This right and basic building block of our constitution should not be impeded by threats and retaliation. Our government was conceived by the people for the people, our military affects every U.S. citizen. Every Citizen should have the right to present an opinion and to have that opinion honestly considered.
- If death and injury can be cut down then I vote that the soldiers should be allowed to use non-issue armor. That statemen assumes this armor is tested as better. If will save lives and bring more troops back then I belive that we could spend a little bit more on these protection items.--Projektdotnet 18:36, 24 April 2006 (MDT)
[edit] Stealing al-Qaeda's Playbook
One of the unfortunate failings in the war on terror is our inability to understand the culture of Islamic militants. West Point's CTC has begun making progess in this direction but the national debate over terrorism is not. I think the political debate over how to deal with terrorism should be informed by documents like Stealing al-Qa`ida's Playbook and concepts like 4th Generation Warfare. The American people deserve a serious discussion of security grounded in concepts developed by warfare analysts not political discussions devised by political analysts.
[edit] Refocusing War on Terror to Proliferation
Foreign Policy magazine & The Center For American Progresshave recently interviewed more than 100 terrorism experts that span the ideological spectrum.
Here is a summary of information yielded from these interviews that they term The Terrorism Index: [Image:http://web0.foreignpolicy.com/issue_julyaug_2006/TI-index/question1.gif]
47% of those interviewed named nuclear proliferation issues as the single greatest threat to our nation.
We must refocus our defensive resources to stopping nuclear proliferation and securing nuclear technology around the globe, specifically in the former Soviet Union.
There are many proliferation sites that outline non-proliferation strategies, they include: The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Includes this document containing suggestions for the restructuring of US forces) gyre.org (A website focused on military technology) armscontrol.org nti.org ...and many more.
