When you see this taking place in the Pentagon Courtyard, you'll know our military is finished.
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| Politics is killing the Pentagon |
| 2014-11-17 |
| As America returns to war in the Middle East, ramps up for new problems from Russia, battles Ebola in Africa and continues the "pivot" to Asia, the capacity of the U.S. military is once again front and center. But Washington is in denial about two major realities: The U.S. military's technological edge is eroding, and politics is killing the Pentagon. All too soon, America won't be able to take on this range of challenges. Indeed, it's not even clear that we still can today. At a recent Democratic Party event, President Obama boasted that, "American military superiority has never been greater compared to other countries." But the opposite is true. Earlier this year, the Pentagon acquisition chief contradicted his boss: "Technological superiority is not assured, and we cannot be complacent about our posture. This is not a future problem; this is a 'here now' problem." U.S. military technological superiority has been declining across the services and warfighting domains for years now. It's common knowledge in the defense community, but as with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and the intelligence community, no one in the White House appears to be listening. The buildup in defense-related federal research and development (R&D) spending that began in the 1940s and persisted through the 1980s was responsible for propelling many of the pivotal technological breakthroughs of the 20th century, including jet engines, avionics systems, weather satellites, electronic computers, computer software and graphics, GPS and cellphones. And that innovation has propelled the U.S. military to the pinnacle of world power -- until now. |
| Posted by:Pappy |
| #8 When you see this taking place in the Pentagon Courtyard, you'll know our military is finished. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-11-17 11:06 |
| #7 Cause replacing competent military leadership with agenda driven political hacks worked so well for the Iraqis. (do I need to put the /sarc mark on that?) |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2014-11-17 09:24 |
| #6 Social engineering and PC have always infected the military--much more so during the last 6 years. Their sole purpose should be to defend the country--not nation building, addressing ebola epidemics or making the military a haven for various splinter groups. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2014-11-17 08:48 |
| #5 I'd say political correctness is what's killing the pentagon. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2014-11-17 08:08 |
| #4 IT will take a while to root out the politically correct and true believers promoted to bird colonel and general during Obama It will take longer to replace the superior talent and dynamic leadership of those forced out of the service. |
| Posted by: Mystic 2014-11-17 08:00 |
| #3 Same old same old. When HASN'T politics damaged the military? |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2014-11-17 07:35 |
#2 Moderators - My numba one was posted to the wrong article. Please delete.
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| Posted by: Besoeker 2014-11-17 00:42 |
| #1 It’s imperative that Congress act to retire legacy weapons systems like the A-10 Warthog Well, the author lost me, right there. They may need refurbishing - or even produce brand new aircraft of the same design. But - stick with a winner. |
| Posted by: Lone Ranger 2014-11-17 00:40 |