Policy Glimpse Inside Obama's Pentagon?

Policy Glimpse Inside Obama's Pentagon?

www.dodbuzz.com

The global financial crisis is likely to drive Democrats to approve or continue major defense programs such as the F-22 and Future Combat System because they provide so many jobs. At the same time, the Pentagon must improve its management and development of acquisition systems and should start by focussing attention on the rapid acquisition efforts as as the one for counter-IED technologies and MRAPs to institutionalize what made those so responsive to warfighters needs.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Okay, let's look at this from all angles.
While of course there is the thing of many of you being against the Military-Industrial Complex which Eisenhower himself warned against it.
But of course we also have a crappy economy and the American military machine does generate jobs domestically and aid to keep the economy going. We cannot also forget about the fact that we are long overdue for some of these systems.
Another question is whether or not the Democrats will actually go with this plan.

www.dodbuzz.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Originally posted by spec_ops_wannabe
Okay, let's look at this from all angles.
While of course there is the thing of many of you being against the Military-Industrial Complex which Eisenhower himself warned against it.

History Channel showed a good documentary called "Sputnik Mania" in which they showed that the military-industrial complex's best friends on Capitol Hill during the Eisenhower administration were famous liberal Democrats like Hubert H. Humphrey. It was HHH and his buddies who were pushing Ike to approve more and more ICBM's, the frankly ridiculous nuclear-powered bomber concept, and a few other boondoggles which JFK then had to cancel (saying nothing about which side of the aisle pushed for them in the first place)

But of course we also have a crappy economy and the American military machine does generate jobs domestically and aid to keep the economy going. We cannot also forget about the fact that we are long overdue for some of these systems. Another question is whether or not the Democrats will actually go with this plan.

www.dodbuzz.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

My issue with things like kinetic-kill ABMs (the sort we're using now) is that they can be overwhelmed by decoys and penetration aids. We had a GREAT antiballistic missile system called Safeguard/Sprint in the 1970s, in which the missiles had small nuclear warheads on them - guaranteeing a kill if the missile got anywhere near the incoming warhead. Kissinger and Nixon gave it away to get the SALT and ABM Treaties - which the Russians began violating as soon as they signed them.

It's time to stop screwing around. If the idea is to defend the country, use concepts and systems that will actually work, and forget the political correctness part of the equation. PCness has cost this country so much - and we could live to see it destroyed because our leaders lacked the backbone to defend us competently.

[edit on 15-1-2009 by Murky]

[edit on 15-1-2009 by Murky]