Listening to NPR this morning, I got to hear a discussion of the US Debt and how it related to the military- which causes a lot of the debt.
They had a local expert, who spewed the ne0-con line:
We do face a rising China, a resurgent Russia and a nuclear North Korea. But there’s no clear and present danger the way there was, say, in the World War II or Korea or Vietnam War buildups. On the other hand, we have the smallest number of deployable U.S. Navy ships since World War II, an Air Force tanker fleet and B-52 bombers that are more than half a century old and the last major-weapons buy for the Army in the 1970s and 1980s.
Peter Mansoor, a retired U.S. Army colonel and now a professor of military history at The Ohio State University.
Source: The Tax Bill And The Military : NPR [1]
As to the smallest number of US Navy ships since WWII- what does that mean? In WWII we had ships by the ship-ton, to land troops on beaches, to ferry troops around the world, and naval surface warfare was still a legitimate thing.
It sounds horrible- yet, since the Falklands war, any ship that’s got a profile above water is pretty easy prey to some very inexpensive missiles. Never mind, satellites make it really easy to keep track of every ship on the seas. Throw in the fact that a single destroyer now has the firepower of an entire battle fleet- and what this “expert” is saying is like comparing the Golden State Warriors to the rest of the world- which consists of 5th grade girls teams.
Our Navy has all the ships we could possibly need- and then some.
As to bombers for the Air Force- ever since the ICBM, there really hasn’t been a need for manned long range bombers other than to give the underachieving AF academy grads something to pilot (the superstars all fly fighters).
The reality is the US spends more on defense than the rest of the world combined, and it’s unsustainable. That is, unless we keep creating wars to fight with poor people.
It’s time to tell these neo-cons to go to hell. Cut the defense budget. Stop the wars. Stop fighting last centuries wars.
The Russian’s didn’t need a single bomber or aircraft carrier to help subvert our political process and elect the man most likely to blow us all to bits did they?
The future, it’s not in plastics, or weapons, it’s in information technology. In war, going back to the days of the Romans, those who had the best information, usually won.
When are we going to have leaders that understand that our growing debt, puts us at more risk than anything else these days?
Pay attention people.
…the Russians subverted the US political process and elected Donald Trump? Damn David, what all did I miss spending this last year in the Hindu Kush, teaching hockey playing Buddhist Monks the subtleties and nuances of penalty killing? Now I woulda’ guessed it was a pissed off electorate that had soured on sub-two percent growth, open borders and identity politics. Not to mention the Democrats obsession with government force and a corrupt and unattractive presidential candidate. But it was Russkies that cast those 60 million votes? Thanks, David, for straightening the Old Bandito out on that one…