In great part, the US military, that's who.
Isn't it funny how libs who run for office declaring their undying hostility toward 'the military-industrial complex' discover, upon entering office, that Gee-Wally it's neat to be Commander-in-Chief, with alllll those toys to play with and people to order around. One begins to feel, well, god-like. Suits Mr. Obama's ego like a tailored outfit from Savile Row
James Corum continues:
...the president is travelling with an entourage that would dwarf the armed forces of even large nations (US Navy ships deployed, a fleet of aircraft and vehicles, hundreds of advisors) and displaying a level of pomp and ceremony that would have impressed the old Raj, some American newspapers have been noting the cost of $200 million a day. For a president that runs up new spending in the trillions, this is small change. But he will be coming back to face a new Congress. And, after a two-year spending binge, he is asking it to make some major cuts – in the defence budget.
As it happens, the defence budget is the main source of President Obama’s lavish travel budget. When the Congressional committees – after January to be controlled by conservative Republicans – look at his wish to cut defence, they may note that the cost of this latest trip could have paid for a squadron of new F-35 fighters for the US Air Force, or a destroyer for the US Navy, or a whole new brigade for the US Army, complete with personnel and armoured vehicles. Republican Congressmen may note that America could have bought itself some real security in the form of men and equipment for a military worn down by a decade of conflict.
There is a story, repeated often, so it likely has some truth to it, about the unlamented President Lyndon Johnson. This guy was a Texas Democrat machine politician from Day 1, and assiduously avoided military service in the 1940's, even though his colleagues in Congress were resigning and joining the military. He did discover the joys of free air travel and nice billetings in the Pacific theatre, though.
Later, he loved being President, 'cuz it gave him his own army to play with. Hells-bells, this guy was personally calling in airstrikes on Vietnam from the oval office.
Don't get much better than that ya'll--pick up the phone, and the carriers launch the planes, things go BOOM and pilots and people on the ground die horrible deaths. All before lunch.
So, one fine day, President Johnson is ambling toward his waiting Marine helicopter, when the the sentry on the stairs attempts to direct him to the other chopper in the pair that was about to take off. Sez the sentry: 'Mr. President, this isn't helicopter, sir. It's that one over there!'
Johnson doesn't miss a beat. He leans over to the sentry and exclaims over the prop wash: The're allllll my helicopters, Corporal!
Come January, TheOne will hopefully have some-splainin-to-do-Lucy...like what his views are about the Taxpayers owning all that stuff.
Those choppers aren't his toys, and those people operating them aren't his chattel.
Showing posts with label James Corum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Corum. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
James Corum On Iran's Nuclear Capability
Corum (a military historian, a serious resume, no hysterical guy in Momma's basement), shares sobering words about WhatObamaHathWrought.
The article isn't long, and words are not minced. The zinger comes in the final paragraphs:
The sum of American foreign policy is: trust the goodwill and friendship of the Russian and Chinese regimes. In my lifetime there have been bad foreign policies, but this one wins the grand prize.
Right now, the White House is already working on an argument that perhaps it’s a good thing for Iran to have nukes after all. It could make the world safer. And this line will be loyally accepted by the mainstream media. Until the nukes start to go off.
Usually, comments following his essays are thoughtful and insightful. This article brought a number of angry folks out of the woodwork, from all corners. This is not reassuring.
The article isn't long, and words are not minced. The zinger comes in the final paragraphs:
The sum of American foreign policy is: trust the goodwill and friendship of the Russian and Chinese regimes. In my lifetime there have been bad foreign policies, but this one wins the grand prize.
Right now, the White House is already working on an argument that perhaps it’s a good thing for Iran to have nukes after all. It could make the world safer. And this line will be loyally accepted by the mainstream media. Until the nukes start to go off.
Usually, comments following his essays are thoughtful and insightful. This article brought a number of angry folks out of the woodwork, from all corners. This is not reassuring.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
James Corum Asks The Relevant Question: Why Do Our Soldiers' Lives Matter So Little To Our Elites?
James Corum is a sober, thoughtful voice in the ongoing debate about peace and war, and how each should be waged.
OS enjoys reading his thoughts, and hopes his readers will take a few moments to ponder them as well.
This time, he discusses the massive WikiLeaks scandal, abetted by the Yew Nork Times.
He asks the cogent question:
Take a hypothetical situation. In 1943 some British and American military intelligence personnel decided that the public had a right to know how the war was really going. They gave the documents to the New York Times and Guardian, who published them in accordance with “the public’s right to know”. Along with the routine reports, the media published thousands of pages of low level intelligence documents including documents that mentioned army staff meetings. The media blacked out the names of the sources and some details – but a clever enemy could quickly figure out which meetings had been compromised and who had likely compromised them. They would also have likely figured out which information had come from signals intercepts – and would then quickly change their procedures and codes to shut off intelligence to the Allies. As a result of the compromise, many Allied soldiers would likely die.
What would be the response of the British and US governments to such a leak of classified information?
And, more to the point, he poses a sharper question at the end
[W]hy were soldiers lives considered valuable in 1943 and not even considered at all by the political and media elites in 2010? The answer is that the liberal elites who think leaking documents is worthy of praise appear to have no regard at all for the lives of the soldiers they send to war, if such lives get in the way of their momentary ego gratification. Our elites are making it very clear that their moment of fame, of self-righteous glory, and their moral posturing far outweigh the lives of our soldiers.
It's a question that goes to the heart of our culture, and needs to be addressed head-on.
Now, by contrast, OS is on a business trip in Northern Kentucky this week. The local paper is covering the funeral of a local young man killed in service of his country. Ambushed in Afghanistan, leaving behind a widow and three children. The accounts are, well, heartbreaking.
Carroll County and neighboring county residents are encouraged to attend a community memorial service on Friday, July 30, to “honor the life of Staff Sgt. Chris Stout.” The announcement was made on Monday, July 26, by Carroll County Judge-Executive Harold “Shorty” Tomlinson.
Stout was among three soldiers killed on July 13 when their unit came under attack by insurgents in Kandahar City, Afghanistan. Stout was assigned to 1st Batallion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, N.C. He served much of his career as a rigger with the 782nd Main Support Battalion and other quartermaster units on Fort Bragg. It was during this time that he sang with the 82nd All American Army chorus. Stout reclassed to become a chaplain’s assistant in September 2006.
“This is a service not only for the people of our Carroll County community,” Tomlinson said, “but for neighboring communities as well. We need to make sure our younger generation realizes that there is a real cost for the freedoms we enjoy.”
Plans were still incomplete at press time regarding who would be the speakers and other active participants in the service, Tomlinson said.
Stout grew up in the Worthville community and attended Carroll and Owen county schools. He resided in Fayetteville, N.C., with his wife Misty and daughters Audreanna and Kristen. His oldest daughter Jacqueline resides in Bedford, Ky. Stout is the first chaplain’s assistant killed in action since 1970 during the Vietnam War.
It is maddening to see the disconnect between the outpouring of sympathy for this fine young man, and the cynicism of the elites whose reckless behaviour leads to these tragedies. Not just the loss of a soldier's life, but the lives forever altered by his death. It matters not a whit to the soulless editors seeking that next Pulitzer by climbing over the corpses they create.
If we are going to set this culture back on track, we must begin to speak with clarity, repeatedly and loudly, that this sort of travesty is not acceptable.
Condolences to the family and friends of Sgt. Stout.
May an incurable pox afflict the editorial staff of the New York Times.
OS enjoys reading his thoughts, and hopes his readers will take a few moments to ponder them as well.
This time, he discusses the massive WikiLeaks scandal, abetted by the Yew Nork Times.
He asks the cogent question:
Take a hypothetical situation. In 1943 some British and American military intelligence personnel decided that the public had a right to know how the war was really going. They gave the documents to the New York Times and Guardian, who published them in accordance with “the public’s right to know”. Along with the routine reports, the media published thousands of pages of low level intelligence documents including documents that mentioned army staff meetings. The media blacked out the names of the sources and some details – but a clever enemy could quickly figure out which meetings had been compromised and who had likely compromised them. They would also have likely figured out which information had come from signals intercepts – and would then quickly change their procedures and codes to shut off intelligence to the Allies. As a result of the compromise, many Allied soldiers would likely die.
What would be the response of the British and US governments to such a leak of classified information?
And, more to the point, he poses a sharper question at the end
[W]hy were soldiers lives considered valuable in 1943 and not even considered at all by the political and media elites in 2010? The answer is that the liberal elites who think leaking documents is worthy of praise appear to have no regard at all for the lives of the soldiers they send to war, if such lives get in the way of their momentary ego gratification. Our elites are making it very clear that their moment of fame, of self-righteous glory, and their moral posturing far outweigh the lives of our soldiers.
It's a question that goes to the heart of our culture, and needs to be addressed head-on.
Now, by contrast, OS is on a business trip in Northern Kentucky this week. The local paper is covering the funeral of a local young man killed in service of his country. Ambushed in Afghanistan, leaving behind a widow and three children. The accounts are, well, heartbreaking.
Carroll County and neighboring county residents are encouraged to attend a community memorial service on Friday, July 30, to “honor the life of Staff Sgt. Chris Stout.” The announcement was made on Monday, July 26, by Carroll County Judge-Executive Harold “Shorty” Tomlinson.
Stout was among three soldiers killed on July 13 when their unit came under attack by insurgents in Kandahar City, Afghanistan. Stout was assigned to 1st Batallion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, based in Fort Bragg, N.C. He served much of his career as a rigger with the 782nd Main Support Battalion and other quartermaster units on Fort Bragg. It was during this time that he sang with the 82nd All American Army chorus. Stout reclassed to become a chaplain’s assistant in September 2006.
“This is a service not only for the people of our Carroll County community,” Tomlinson said, “but for neighboring communities as well. We need to make sure our younger generation realizes that there is a real cost for the freedoms we enjoy.”
Plans were still incomplete at press time regarding who would be the speakers and other active participants in the service, Tomlinson said.
Stout grew up in the Worthville community and attended Carroll and Owen county schools. He resided in Fayetteville, N.C., with his wife Misty and daughters Audreanna and Kristen. His oldest daughter Jacqueline resides in Bedford, Ky. Stout is the first chaplain’s assistant killed in action since 1970 during the Vietnam War.
It is maddening to see the disconnect between the outpouring of sympathy for this fine young man, and the cynicism of the elites whose reckless behaviour leads to these tragedies. Not just the loss of a soldier's life, but the lives forever altered by his death. It matters not a whit to the soulless editors seeking that next Pulitzer by climbing over the corpses they create.
If we are going to set this culture back on track, we must begin to speak with clarity, repeatedly and loudly, that this sort of travesty is not acceptable.
Condolences to the family and friends of Sgt. Stout.
May an incurable pox afflict the editorial staff of the New York Times.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
'Peace Activists' And Their Culture Of Violence: James Corum Remembers
James Corum is no right-wing nutter living in his mother's basement, as the White House would have us believe about any who dare disagree with The One.
James Corum is Dean of the Baltic Defence College in Estonia. He has taught at American and British staff colleges and is the author of seven books on military history and counter-insurgency. He is a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Reserve (rtd) and has 28 years' experience as an army officer.
Colonel Corum has a chilling tale to tell of life on the receiving end of the 'peace activists' activities, in the wake of the 'peace activists' activities on behalf of Hamas.
[quote]
I had my first experience with peace lovers in 1965 when my father was the deputy commander of the Presidio of San Francisco, in those days an Army post located right in the centre of the city. Due to its location, it was a magnet for the 1960s-era protests. My father was tasked to deal with anti-Vietnam demonstrations that began with the deployment of US combat troops to Vietnam. A group of seven liberal activists – some of them who later became quite prominent in the Democratic Party in California – requested permission to hold a demonstration on the Presidio. Of course, political demonstrations of any type are forbidden on federal property. My father, following federal law, denied the protest request. My father was also noted in the local press as the one who had turned down the peace activists’ – so a personal target was clearly identified.
The night after my father denied the peace demonstration request our car – a beautiful 1957 Lincoln – was completely destroyed by terrorists. In those days the Presidio was an open post - and anyone had access. From that day on, and for the next few months, we received constant death threats. Federal agents traced a lot of the calls to Berkeley – center of peace activities in the Bay area. When I was twelve I got quite used to picking up the phone and having peace people tell me they would kill our family. When you personally experience terrorism as a twelve year-old, you grow up quickly in terms of understanding politics – and especially understanding the true nature of “peace” activists.
Hmmm...that's 'peaceful', isn't it?
Col. Corum has more to tell, and OS recommends his thoughts to you.
OS also wonders what the man is doing as a retired officer teaching in Estonia, instead of an active general in service of his country. But then again, since there are so many 'peace activists' who have made their way to upper reaches of the government in the past decade, it comes as no surprise. OS notes that the GW Bush administration was also famous for its intolerance of any and all who dared disagree, or demonstrated that potential.
OS also calls to mind the verbal (thankfully not physical) violence he has witnessed by the 'peace activist' types directed toward any who dare offer an alternate opinion to the Party Line. One special moment occurred at church some time back, as a patrician lady attempted to verbally disembowel him in the halls for refusing to accept and post copies of the then latest cause pushed by the Left. OS was much younger and more naive, and left the encounter with his feelings bruised, instead of just seeing the old bat for who she was--an old bat with an abusive streak.
Some wisdom does come with age. Let's be careful out there. As he has stated before, anyone who demonstrates an enthusiasm for spilling blood over a domestic political difference of opinion is someone to be treated with a healthy wariness.
Maybe we're not the problem. Just sayin...
James Corum is Dean of the Baltic Defence College in Estonia. He has taught at American and British staff colleges and is the author of seven books on military history and counter-insurgency. He is a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Reserve (rtd) and has 28 years' experience as an army officer.
Colonel Corum has a chilling tale to tell of life on the receiving end of the 'peace activists' activities, in the wake of the 'peace activists' activities on behalf of Hamas.
[quote]
I had my first experience with peace lovers in 1965 when my father was the deputy commander of the Presidio of San Francisco, in those days an Army post located right in the centre of the city. Due to its location, it was a magnet for the 1960s-era protests. My father was tasked to deal with anti-Vietnam demonstrations that began with the deployment of US combat troops to Vietnam. A group of seven liberal activists – some of them who later became quite prominent in the Democratic Party in California – requested permission to hold a demonstration on the Presidio. Of course, political demonstrations of any type are forbidden on federal property. My father, following federal law, denied the protest request. My father was also noted in the local press as the one who had turned down the peace activists’ – so a personal target was clearly identified.
The night after my father denied the peace demonstration request our car – a beautiful 1957 Lincoln – was completely destroyed by terrorists. In those days the Presidio was an open post - and anyone had access. From that day on, and for the next few months, we received constant death threats. Federal agents traced a lot of the calls to Berkeley – center of peace activities in the Bay area. When I was twelve I got quite used to picking up the phone and having peace people tell me they would kill our family. When you personally experience terrorism as a twelve year-old, you grow up quickly in terms of understanding politics – and especially understanding the true nature of “peace” activists.
Hmmm...that's 'peaceful', isn't it?
Col. Corum has more to tell, and OS recommends his thoughts to you.
OS also wonders what the man is doing as a retired officer teaching in Estonia, instead of an active general in service of his country. But then again, since there are so many 'peace activists' who have made their way to upper reaches of the government in the past decade, it comes as no surprise. OS notes that the GW Bush administration was also famous for its intolerance of any and all who dared disagree, or demonstrated that potential.
OS also calls to mind the verbal (thankfully not physical) violence he has witnessed by the 'peace activist' types directed toward any who dare offer an alternate opinion to the Party Line. One special moment occurred at church some time back, as a patrician lady attempted to verbally disembowel him in the halls for refusing to accept and post copies of the then latest cause pushed by the Left. OS was much younger and more naive, and left the encounter with his feelings bruised, instead of just seeing the old bat for who she was--an old bat with an abusive streak.
Some wisdom does come with age. Let's be careful out there. As he has stated before, anyone who demonstrates an enthusiasm for spilling blood over a domestic political difference of opinion is someone to be treated with a healthy wariness.
Maybe we're not the problem. Just sayin...
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