Start another war like Iraq? You're nuts, Gates sa

[marjar]

WEST POINT, N.Y. — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates bluntly told an audience of West Point cadets on Friday that it would be unwise for the United States to ever fight another war like Iraq or Afghanistan, and that the chances of carrying out a change of government in that fashion again were slim.

“In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should ‘have his head examined,’ as General MacArthur so delicately put it,” Mr. Gates told an assembly of Army cadets here.

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41788477/ns/world_news-the_new_york_times/

[SweetVirginia]

Feb 25, 2011 23:57:41 GMT -5 @marjar said:

WEST POINT, N.Y. — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates bluntly told an audience of West Point cadets on Friday that it would be unwise for the United States to ever fight another war like Iraq or Afghanistan, and that the chances of carrying out a change of government in that fashion again were slim.

“In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should ‘have his head examined,’ as General MacArthur so delicately put it,” Mr. Gates told an assembly of Army cadets here.

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41788477/ns/world_news-the_new_york_times/

I was impressed to hear him say this.

[marjar]

Feb 26, 2011 14:37:30 GMT -5 SweetVirginia said:

Feb 25, 2011 23:57:41 GMT -5 @marjar said:

WEST POINT, N.Y. — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates bluntly told an audience of West Point cadets on Friday that it would be unwise for the United States to ever fight another war like Iraq or Afghanistan, and that the chances of carrying out a change of government in that fashion again were slim.

“In my opinion, any future defense secretary who advises the president to again send a big American land army into Asia or into the Middle East or Africa should ‘have his head examined,’ as General MacArthur so delicately put it,” Mr. Gates told an assembly of Army cadets here.


Amazed and impressed.

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41788477/ns/world_news-the_new_york_times/

I was impressed to hear him say this.

[handyman2]

That took courage on his part. I just hope the war eagles in power are listening.

[mmhmm]

Good for him! It's about time somebody who'll actually be heard had the courage to say it like it is!

[privateinvestor]

Yea but Bob Gates has announced that he is leaving the Obama Adminstration soon....he is also upset with the Obama Administration Defense Dept Proposed Budget Cuts...

[mmhmm]

Heh. If I were Defense Secretary and you were going to cut my budget, I'd probably pitch a hissy, too. Most folks would. It's par for the course.

[billisonboard]

Feb 26, 2011 18:29:29 GMT -5 @privateinvestor said:

Yea but Bob Gates has announced that he is leaving the Obama Adminstration soon....he is also upset with the Obama Administration Defense Dept Proposed Budget Cuts...

President Barack Obama today sent to Congress a proposed defense budget of $671 billion for fiscal 2012. The request for the Department of Defense (DoD) includes $553 billion in discretionary budget authority to fund base defense programs and $118 billion to support "overseas contingency operations" (OCO), primarily in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"This budget represents a reasonable, responsible and sustainable level of funding, the minimum level of defense spending that is necessary, given the security challenges we are facing around the globe," said Defense Secretary Robert Gates. waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2011/02/gates-defends-obamas-proposed-budget-cuts-in-afghanistan-dod.html

[billisonboard]

Feb 26, 2011 18:32:44 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

Heh. If I were Defense Secretary and you were going to cut my budget, I'd probably pitch a hissy, too. Most folks would. It's par for the course.

Except he didn't about the Obama Administration's cuts however:
WASHINGTON — Even as the Obama administration on Monday rolled out its budget for 2012, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was dueling with Congress over military spending for this year, ... www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/us/politics/15pentagon.html

[mmhmm]

He's going to battle for what he feels he truly needs, I'd think. As I said, that's par for the course, whether in government, or private industry. It appears he's happy with the budget Obama sent to congress, but wants to be darned sure congress doesn't gut it to the point it isn't functional. Wouldn't most people do the same thing? I think so.

[privateinvestor]

Feb 26, 2011 18:53:17 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

He's going to battle for what he feels he truly needs, I'd think. As I said, that's par for the course, whether in government, or private industry. It appears he's happy with the budget Obama sent to congress, but wants to be darned sure congress doesn't gut it to the point it isn't functional. Wouldn't most people do the same thing? I think so.

The Obama Proposed Budget has NOT been approved and will probably see more cuts which has Gates, and other Obama Administration Secretaries concerned about how drastic these cuts will be for their departments...

Both Dems and Republicans in congress don't think the Obama Administration will be what they end up with. Obama just punted or passed the buck onto congress to make the tough decisions about cutting more programs in the Defense Budget which would have any Defense Dept worried about what Defense Budget is approved..


Gates has said the absence of an appropriation for fiscal 2011 threatens to cause serious inefficiencies and problems this year and in 2012

[billisonboard]

Feb 26, 2011 19:01:47 GMT -5 @privateinvestor said:

Feb 26, 2011 18:53:17 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

He's going to battle for what he feels he truly needs, I'd think. As I said, that's par for the course, whether in government, or private industry. It appears he's happy with the budget Obama sent to congress, but wants to be darned sure congress doesn't gut it to the point it isn't functional. Wouldn't most people do the same thing? I think so.

... Obama just punted or passed the buck onto congress to make the tough decisions about cutting more programs in the Defense Budget which would have any Defense Dept worried about what Defense Budget is approved..

...

President Barack Obama today sent to Congress a proposed defense budget ...

"This budget represents a reasonable, responsible and sustainable level of funding, the minimum level of defense spending that is necessary, given the security challenges we are facing around the globe," said Defense Secretary Robert Gates. waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/....nistan-dod.html

Or did he listen to his Secretary of Defense and proposed the proper amount?

[privateinvestor]

Gates Sees Crisis in Current Spending
By THOM SHANKER and CHRISTOPHER DREW
WASHINGTON — Even as the Obama administration on Monday rolled out its budget for 2012, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was dueling with Congress over military spending for this year, saying the Pentagon cannot do its job with cuts of more than $9 billion.

Mr. Gates said restrictions on spending “may soon turn into a crisis” for the military, as Congress, deadlocked over the politics of passing a federal budget for 2011, placed the government on a “continuing resolution” that has limited Pentagon spending since last autumn.
If that stopgap budget stays in place for the entire fiscal year, it would result in military spending of $526 billion, not counting the costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, or a cut of $23 billion from the administration’s request of $549 billion. Mr. Gates demanded that Congress approve 2011 spending of at least $540 billion.

“Suggestions to cut defense by this or that large number have largely become exercises in simple math, divorced from serious considerations of capabilities, risk, and the level of resources needed to protect this country’s security and vital interests around the world,” Mr. Gates said in a Pentagon news conference.

Congressional leaders now say they plan to attach a full military appropriations bill to the continuing resolution that would finance the rest of the government. While that bill would impose cuts of $16 billion, this at least could allow the Pentagon to award new contracts and shift some money around among programs.

But Congress could make some of these allocations, and Mr. Gates said that despite the Pentagon’s reservations, he would continue money for an alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter until Congress acted. The bill being drafted, for example, could include $450 million to keep the engine project alive. Pentagon officials have estimated that it could cost $2 billion to $3 billion to finish developing the engine, which Mr. Gates and President Obama say the military cannot afford.

The dispute has drawn attention recently because the engine work provides jobs in Ohio, the home state of the new House speaker, John A. Boehner. But Democrats in both houses have also repeatedly voted to save the second engine, partly to provide competition for contracts that could ultimately be worth up to $100 billion.

For next year, the Pentagon is requesting $670.6 billion for the 2012 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. That includes $553 billion for its base budget and $117.8 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As a result, the total of $693 billion in 2010 might have represented the peak for the surge in military spending that began after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. And Congressional leaders say that new members from the Tea Party movement may try to cut military spending even more.

The biggest cuts for next year would come in the war budget with most of the troops returning from Iraq. The overseas spending would drop by $41.4 billion from the $159.3 billion that the administration proposed for 2011, and it would fall to the lowest level since 2006.

All six members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff also weighed in to the coming budget debate on Monday, signing a letter expressing support for what they described as “modest and manageable” increases in fees for working-age military retirees who have chosen to remain on the Defense Department’s Tricare medical insurance program.

Total health care costs for the Pentagon, which is the nation’s single largest employer, top $50 billion a year, one-tenth of its budget. A decade ago, health care cost the Pentagon $19 billion; five years from now, without changes, it is projected to cost $65 billion. Tricare fees have not increased since 1995.

“We will continue to provide the finest health care benefits in the country for our active and retired military service members and their families while continuing to serve as responsible financial stewards of the taxpayers’ investment in our military,” the letter said.

All six members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, each a four-star officer, have not signed such a correspondence, known as a “24-star letter,” since 2006. Congress has voted down other plans to increase Tricare fees, which veterans groups oppose.

As pressure mounted to reduce the deficits, Democratic lawmakers began planning last summer to trim the Pentagon’s request for 2011. The Republicans have added to the proposed cuts since they took control of the House last month.

Under the latest proposal, which could be voted on this week, House Republicans would cut about $15 billion from the Pentagon’s main operating accounts. That would include $11 billion in cuts that the Democratic lawmakers had settled on before the midterm elections.

The reductions would also include $2 billion to $3 billion in lawmakers’ pet projects known as earmarks and more than $1 billion in unspent money from various programs. Other cuts would come in military construction and energy projects.

www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/us/politics/15pentagon.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

[privateinvestor]

Mr. Gates said restrictions on spending “may soon turn into a crisis” for the military, as Congress, deadlocked over the politics of passing a federal budget for 2011, placed the government on a “continuing resolution” that has limited Pentagon spending since last autumn

Where's the leadership from Obama for this Defense Dept Budget crisis?? Limited Pentagon spending since last fall? Ridiculous

Answer: AWOL And gives Bob Gates all the more reason to leave as Obama's Secretary of Defense who has done an outstanding job in this role....But I personally would like to see a Military person be his replacement who knows the Pentagon from first hand experience....my picks would be General Joe Hoar USMCret or General Barry McCafferty USA ret..

[billisonboard]

Where's the leadership from Obama for this Defense Dept Budget crisis??

Respecting the Constitutional separation of powers?

[mmhmm]

It couldn't be that, could it, bill? It couldn't be that the proposed budget was put before congress for their input, could it? Is that really how things are done?

[deziloooooo]

Feb 26, 2011 19:47:51 GMT -5 @privateinvestor said:

Mr. Gates said restrictions on spending “may soon turn into a crisis” for the military, as Congress, deadlocked over the politics of passing a federal budget for 2011, placed the government on a “continuing resolution” that has limited Pentagon spending since last autumn

Where's the leadership from Obama for this Defense Dept Budget crisis?? Limited Pentagon spending since last fall? Ridiculous

Answer: AWOL And gives Bob Gates all the more reason to leave as Obama's Secretary of Defense who has done an outstanding job in this role....But I personally would like to see a Military person be his replacement who knows the Pentagon from first hand experience....my picks would be General Joe Hoar USMCret or General Barry McCafferty USA ret..

"But Congress could make some of these allocations, and Mr. Gates said that despite the Pentagon’s reservations, he would continue money for an alternate engine for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter until Congress acted. The bill being drafted, for example, could include $450 million to keep the engine project alive. Pentagon officials have estimated that it could cost $2 billion to $3 billion to finish developing the engine, which Mr. Gates and President Obama say the military cannot afford."

You have me confused. The extra engine for the F-35, was not passed by the house, even though it was a favorite of the speaker and others were GE plants are located, and Gates has been against the engine for ever, it hadn't been on any of the budget bills in three years, but by discretionary spending, see Congress here, it kept being added and paid for. Unless added to the final bill, doubt it, it's dead.

Gates has been wanting to leave for a long time, nothing to do with Obama , he wants to go home...has been wanting...

There has been unnecessary items in the billions added by Congress every year...not wanted by the defense people, basically local pork barrel items for plants back home..they will get some nice cuts here, we'll still be so strong and there still will be people screaming...happens all the time.

[privateinvestor]

Feb 26, 2011 20:07:50 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

It couldn't be that, could it, bill? It couldn't be that the proposed budget was put before congress for their input, could it? Is that really how things are done?

The Pentagon Budget for 2011 is not before congress which is what Gates addressed in my response #12. He has a continued resolution or limited spending since last autumn and expressed frustration with this issue....heck of a way to run the Defense Dept which reports directly to Obama as their cough, cough so called Commander in Chief

And who knows what the cuts to the Defense Budget will be for 2012?? Gates and Admiral Mullin are trying to work this issue with congress but they may see further cuts than they expected if you read the testimony from these hearings

Read more: www.notmsnmoney.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=politics&action=display&thread=3970#ixzz1F7OsuSdH

[deziloooooo]

Feb 26, 2011 20:15:03 GMT -5 @privateinvestor said:

Feb 26, 2011 20:07:50 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

It couldn't be that, could it, bill? It couldn't be that the proposed budget was put before congress for their input, could it? Is that really how things are done?

The Pentagon Budget for 2011 is not before congress which is what Gates addresse in my response #12. He has a continued resolution or limited spending since last autumn and expressed frustration with this issue....heck of a way to run the Defense Dept which reports directly to Obama as their cough, cough so called Commander in Chief

And who knows what the cuts to the Defense Budget will be for 2012?? Gates and Admiral Mullin are trying to work this issue with congress but they may see further cuts than they expected if you read the testimony from these hearings

"cough so called Commander in Chief

Where is your problem here? He stayed with Bushes windup in Iraq, he came up with a plan for Afganistan, increased the troops, no didn't go with pentagon plan, $1 trillion, 80,000 more troops and no idea when to get out..that what you wanted? Possible should have gone weith Bidens plan..but that's hind site.

It can't be because of DADT, even many of the top brass, Gates , Mullen were in favor...so you wearn't , can't have everything your way, but thats what your judging it on?

He never served? Think your going to see a lot of POTUS in the future, never served me thinks.

[billisonboard]

Feb 26, 2011 20:15:03 GMT -5 @privateinvestor said:

Feb 26, 2011 20:07:50 GMT -5 mmhmm said:

It couldn't be that, could it, bill? It couldn't be that the proposed budget was put before congress for their input, could it? Is that really how things are done?

The Pentagon Budget for 2011 is not before congress ...

Yes it is. It is Congress who has not done their job.

Obama Sends 2011 Budget to Congress
VOA News ^ | February 1, 2010 | Paula Wolfson

Posted on Monday, February 01, 2010 5:37:43 PM by myknowledge

U.S. President Barack Obama has sent a $3.8 trillion budget request to Congress for the fiscal year that begins on October first. It is the first step in what is expected to be a long, contentious budget process. www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2442285/posts

[privateinvestor]

If that stopgap budget (2011) stays in place for the entire fiscal year, it would result in military spending of $526 billion, not counting the costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, or a cut of $23 billion from the administration’s request of $549 billion. Mr. Gates demanded that Congress approve 2011 spending of at least $540 billion

For next year, the Pentagon is requesting $670.6 billion for the 2012 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. That includes $553 billion for its base budget and $117.8 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As a result, the total of $693 billion in 2010 might have represented the peak for the surge in military spending that began after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. And Congressional leaders say that new members from the Tea Party movement may try to cut military spending even more.

The biggest cuts for next year would come in the war budget with most of the troops returning from Iraq. The overseas spending would drop by $41.4 billion from the $159.3 billion that the administration proposed for 2011, and it would fall to the lowest level since 2006.

www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/us/pol....agewanted=print

[privateinvestor]

Where is the Commander in Chief who has allowed limited Pentagon spending since last fall ?? Or is he trying to determine which way the poltical winds are blowing for this budget crisis for our military??. AWOL......IMHO

[billisonboard]

Feb 26, 2011 21:40:15 GMT -5 @privateinvestor said:

[glow=red,2,300]If that stopgap budget (2011) stays in place for the entire fiscal year, it would result in military spending of $526 billion, not counting the costs of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, or a cut of $23 billion from the administration’s request of $549 billion. Mr. Gates demanded that Congress approve 2011 spending of at least $540 billion

For next year, the Pentagon is requesting $670.6 billion for the 2012 fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1. That includes $553 billion for its base budget and $117.8 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

As a result, the total of $693 billion in 2010 might have represented the peak for the surge in military spending that began after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. And Congressional leaders say that new members from the Tea Party movement may try to cut military spending even more.

The biggest cuts for next year would come in the war budget with most of the troops returning from Iraq. The overseas spending would drop by $41.4 billion from the $159.3 billion that the administration proposed for 2011, and it would fall to the lowest level since 2006

[/size].[/glow] [/b]

www.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/us/pol....agewanted=print
[/quote]

If you are going to go for it, go all the way.

[deziloooooo]

Feb 26, 2011 21:47:23 GMT -5 @privateinvestor said:

Where is the Commander in Chief who has allowed limited Pentagon spending since last fall ?? Or is he trying to determine which way the poltical winds are blowing for this budget crisis for our military??. AWOL......IMHO

IMHO you just don't care for the man so no matter what he did..you would find fault.
Regarding the budget for the defense ..if he went up he spent to much, if down, hes weakening our defense, stayed the same..it would be to much, to little..

[privateinvestor]

Feb 27, 2011 7:16:15 GMT -5 @toughtimes said:

I respect the military, but a big military costs big too and we are in rough shape. Running up the credit card may do us as much damage as having too weak a military. It is a hobson's choice.

Absolutely and the % being tossed around is @ 20%...but the Pentagon doesn't have a budget for this fiscal year yet so their budget for 2012 is what has them anxious if you read Gates's remarks on this topic. BTW I think Bob Gates will do his best to resolve this issue but can't say the same about his boss or the so called Commander in Chief..

Let's just hope we don't see Jimmy Carter Part Dieux because he and SecDef Harold Brown did a lot of damage to our military in 1977 - 1980 when they cut the Defense Dept budgets...