It seems quite amusing to me that so many Ukraine-hawks will also (unwittingly) confirm that while they stand four-square behind escalating tensions with Russia on one hand, they also lament the sorry state of our Armed Forces.
Why so much advocacy for WWIII, when the military is in such dire straits?
That's before you even get into the state of American society and the chronic polarity it now suffers from. It's clear our military is more akin to a 12-cylinder Jaguar engine while our society is akin to a Volkswagen Beatle. Great things do not happen when you stuff a Jaguar engine into a Beatle. In fact, very bad things happen (spoiler: THE CAR COMES APART).
Why is it so hard for some people to see that military success IS LINKED to SOCIETY? If the society is unhealthy, it negatively impacts employment of the military. If the society pulls support for a war, it doesn't matter what military success our Armed Forces have enjoyed - the nation will LEAVE the war, even if the objectives of the war are achievable, even if they are within grasp.
You would think that ... our betrayal of the Kurds would be enough for folks to come to this conclusion. You would think that Obama's abandonment of Iraq would be enough for folks to come to this conclusion. You would think that our comical withdrawal from Afghanistan would be enough for folks to come to this conclusion. You would think that our turning Libya into a more complete shit-hole than it already was ... would be enough for folks to come to this conclusion. You would think that our abandonment of HONG KONG would be enough to for folks to come to this conclusion.
The MURDER perpetrated by Biden and Milley on the innocent Afghan kids was the result of nothing more than a bunch of grown ups trying to placate the anger of American society over the terrorist attack at KBL literally the day before. These guys were trying to prove to Americans they still had balls - so they recklessly killed a bunch of kids.
By mistake ... apparently ... but it's a sin they should be executed for (in my opinion) - or we can go with some lesser punishment you civilized weenies come up with - I'm good with it, as long as someone is held accountable.
But no one was. And not too many of you guys were upset about the whole affair to even talk about it more than five minutes.
And you know, because of your silence, PLENTY received awards and promotions based on this "righteous strike".
And for those still not convinced ... the aggregate reality of ALL OF THE ABOVE ... should be enough to bring folks to the conclusion that we should be looking for diplomatic solutions to our foreign policy woes.
Could not agree more. As a senior officer that has lived through many 30 year shipbuilding plans they always include a dip in force structure betting on a future that has not come to pass. We DECOM’d 5 CGs that were capable of the advanced air threats of their times. We committed to a an LCS program that was fundamentally flawed in capability from the get go. We have been subjected to DoD over sight that has destroyed our ability to field new battle force capable ships from 3 per decade to 1 in three decades. No value add. While politics play in resourcing it is the USN itself that routinely shoots itself in the foot as it tries to balance shipbuilding industrial base with maintaining an active force capable of dealing with the constantly evolving requirements of world national security needs. Note an attack submarine that has been waiting over 3 years for effective overhaul. Sad!
Is there anything that says a quorum didn't count on this thing? 5 is enough to have a meeting. Freedom of Assembly. Forget the rules. Assemble. Get together with both Sals, Dimitry F, etc and make your own conference aired live over their combined podcasts. Get Jon Konrad to pay for it ;) along with viewers like us.....
Surely (OK, I won't call you "Shirley") you didn't expect an "Administration" whose demonstrated goal is to cut defense in favor of welfare giveaways to effectively support the commission--much less pay other than lip service to any results therefrom?
Ukraine is showing a way modern warfare will be fought.
Beyond what we see going on there, will be the developments of autonomous weapons. Weapons the don't require human intervention. Yes we have those already but the new weapons will not have a designated target. They will be let loose to hunt for target. As with all human endeavors, the end result will be the torpedo that sinks the sub that shot it.
If you don't want an answer, form a commission and ignore. A lot of Congress doesn't want answers for certain questions. Or at least certain answers to those questions.
I feel your pain and frustration. I think a lot of folks out there who care about our country's future and especially our NAVY are equally frustrated as well. It is a shame that this commission has gone nowhere. The one thing I do wish though, is that we reach out to individuals who are not the same "think tank" folks and find new blood, new outside thinkers. Keep up the good fight, sir.
It seems quite amusing to me that so many Ukraine-hawks will also (unwittingly) confirm that while they stand four-square behind escalating tensions with Russia on one hand, they also lament the sorry state of our Armed Forces.
Why so much advocacy for WWIII, when the military is in such dire straits?
That's before you even get into the state of American society and the chronic polarity it now suffers from. It's clear our military is more akin to a 12-cylinder Jaguar engine while our society is akin to a Volkswagen Beatle. Great things do not happen when you stuff a Jaguar engine into a Beatle. In fact, very bad things happen (spoiler: THE CAR COMES APART).
Why is it so hard for some people to see that military success IS LINKED to SOCIETY? If the society is unhealthy, it negatively impacts employment of the military. If the society pulls support for a war, it doesn't matter what military success our Armed Forces have enjoyed - the nation will LEAVE the war, even if the objectives of the war are achievable, even if they are within grasp.
You would think that ... our betrayal of the Kurds would be enough for folks to come to this conclusion. You would think that Obama's abandonment of Iraq would be enough for folks to come to this conclusion. You would think that our comical withdrawal from Afghanistan would be enough for folks to come to this conclusion. You would think that our turning Libya into a more complete shit-hole than it already was ... would be enough for folks to come to this conclusion. You would think that our abandonment of HONG KONG would be enough to for folks to come to this conclusion.
The MURDER perpetrated by Biden and Milley on the innocent Afghan kids was the result of nothing more than a bunch of grown ups trying to placate the anger of American society over the terrorist attack at KBL literally the day before. These guys were trying to prove to Americans they still had balls - so they recklessly killed a bunch of kids.
By mistake ... apparently ... but it's a sin they should be executed for (in my opinion) - or we can go with some lesser punishment you civilized weenies come up with - I'm good with it, as long as someone is held accountable.
But no one was. And not too many of you guys were upset about the whole affair to even talk about it more than five minutes.
And you know, because of your silence, PLENTY received awards and promotions based on this "righteous strike".
And for those still not convinced ... the aggregate reality of ALL OF THE ABOVE ... should be enough to bring folks to the conclusion that we should be looking for diplomatic solutions to our foreign policy woes.
Instead, the hawks screech on ...
The NatSec sleepwalk continues.
Could not agree more. As a senior officer that has lived through many 30 year shipbuilding plans they always include a dip in force structure betting on a future that has not come to pass. We DECOM’d 5 CGs that were capable of the advanced air threats of their times. We committed to a an LCS program that was fundamentally flawed in capability from the get go. We have been subjected to DoD over sight that has destroyed our ability to field new battle force capable ships from 3 per decade to 1 in three decades. No value add. While politics play in resourcing it is the USN itself that routinely shoots itself in the foot as it tries to balance shipbuilding industrial base with maintaining an active force capable of dealing with the constantly evolving requirements of world national security needs. Note an attack submarine that has been waiting over 3 years for effective overhaul. Sad!
Unfortunately, this is one of the ever growing mountains of evidence that we are an unserious electorate with an unserious Congress.
Is there anything that says a quorum didn't count on this thing? 5 is enough to have a meeting. Freedom of Assembly. Forget the rules. Assemble. Get together with both Sals, Dimitry F, etc and make your own conference aired live over their combined podcasts. Get Jon Konrad to pay for it ;) along with viewers like us.....
Surely (OK, I won't call you "Shirley") you didn't expect an "Administration" whose demonstrated goal is to cut defense in favor of welfare giveaways to effectively support the commission--much less pay other than lip service to any results therefrom?
Off Topic but what popped up in the pea brain.
Ukraine is showing a way modern warfare will be fought.
Beyond what we see going on there, will be the developments of autonomous weapons. Weapons the don't require human intervention. Yes we have those already but the new weapons will not have a designated target. They will be let loose to hunt for target. As with all human endeavors, the end result will be the torpedo that sinks the sub that shot it.
If you don't want an answer, form a commission and ignore. A lot of Congress doesn't want answers for certain questions. Or at least certain answers to those questions.
“The bucket has a hole in the bottom.” Sadly true. Congressional tergiversation has made that hole larger, not smaller.
Bryan,
I feel your pain and frustration. I think a lot of folks out there who care about our country's future and especially our NAVY are equally frustrated as well. It is a shame that this commission has gone nowhere. The one thing I do wish though, is that we reach out to individuals who are not the same "think tank" folks and find new blood, new outside thinkers. Keep up the good fight, sir.
Best,
Nigel