They told me that if I voted for McCain, political appointees would ruthlessly strong-arm career government employees, and force them to stay silent when their views deviated from the company line. And they were right!
[Gates] said he tried to give the services the “maximum possible opportunity” to share their views during the internal budget negotiations.
“The thing that is important is to reinforce within the building, in terms of dealing with the Hill, that there is a chain of command,” he said. “Once the decision is made, and particularly once the president signs off on the budget, then there needs to be discipline about people not conducting guerilla warfare against decisions the president has made.”
Gates said he briefed President Obama on his recommendations last week, but the White House has not yet formally signed off on his budget proposal.
But Gates, who required everyone involved in the budget negotiations to sign a non-disclosure form barring them from discussing the deliberations, said he has been “astonished by the discipline showed in this process” over the last three months.
During the war in Iraq, the Left made a cottage industry out of promoting anyone loosely connected with the Pentagon who might ever had had a qualm about the direction the Pentagon was taking. I can only hope they’ll be equally interested in this attempt to censor the brave public servants who might be willing to stand up against the President’s attempt to force adherence to the idea of the ‘unitary executive.’ After all, if career military officers happen to think the President is pursuing a course that recklessly endangers America and its interests, they want those brave souls to speak up about it, right?
I’ll be watching Kos, HuffPo and the other leading liberal sites to see how long it takes them to speak up against the Obama administration’s effort to silence internal critics – after all, there’s little the Left loves better than whistleblowers speaking truth to power, is there?
Don’t hold your breath.
Steve Maley
Moe Lane
Dan McLaughlin
Neil Stevens
Good luck with that Sec Gates
Dave_in_Fla (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 2:11PM EST (link)The Army is livid over the TSAT cancellation. The AEHF program doesn’t and can’t meet their requirements. Whoever signed those NDAs did not include the user community.
“If they were merely incompetent, then at least SOME of their actions would have been to the benefit of the country.” – Joe McCarthy
I don't see anything outrageous, but...
passerby25 Wednesday, April 8th at 2:11PM EST (link)I don’t see anything outrageous about this. They seem to be saying “You can have your say, and we will take it into account, but once the deed is done, no backsies”. It makes sense, but, it does seem like they are going too far and are putting too much emphasis on Discipline. Yes, discipline is important for any organization, but once it turns to “You already had your chance, can’t take it back now”, it seems rather oppressive, when looked at objectively. I hope they think this policy over, and make room for dissent.
I respectfully disagree…
You obviously have little (if any) interaction with DoD
Dave_in_Fla (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 2:26PM EST (link)If you did you would know how ridiculously naive Gate’s statement is.
“If they were merely incompetent, then at least SOME of their actions would have been to the benefit of the country.” – Joe McCarthy
Now that I think about it
passerby25 Wednesday, April 8th at 4:19PM EST (link)It is over the top to try and do what he said.
I respectfully disagree…
Did not Time or Newsweek put a bunch of retired
robmikpet (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 2:40PM EST (link)generals whose opposed the Iraq war on the cover with the title “Revolt of the Generals”? I seem to have missed all the follow up interviews asking “What is it like being so worng?”
I don’t expect anything remotely the same, or maybe the same but opposite by the MSM.
Prediction Newsweek cover “Why the Pentagon Loves Obama”
Does anyone remember Joe Wilson and Valerie Plame
gekster (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 3:26PM EST (link)Wilsons report on Yellow Cake in Nigeria??
They say Republicans are for the rich, Democrats are for the poor.
If they need more voters,
then they have to make more of who they are for.
We are there in the various Tea Party groups, leaderless, but not rudderless.
We steer always toward the Constitutional principles this nation was founded upon.
Erick Brockway
Ok folks, 2012 is here. Get involved
Let's remember the budget is increased
I also enjoy making crude sexual jokes. Wednesday, April 8th at 3:51PM EST (link)Defense Secretary Gates(originally from the Bush administration) did get a 4% increase from last years budget.
http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13446682
“That is stretching the point. With a defence budget request of $534 billion next year (a 4% increase on this year), plus $130 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama administration is hardly cutting defence.”
Obama and Gates are repositioning the military for the new reality of future wars.
Besides, the US defense stocks love the new budget:
http://www.janes.com/news/defence/business/jdi/jdi090408_1_n.shtml
“Major US defence stocks were raised out of the doldrums by Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ budget proposals thanks to the lifting of a degree of uncertainty and proposals that were not as dramatic as the markets expected.”
I don’t understand why
DOH hitting post to soon
I also enjoy making crude sexual jokes. Wednesday, April 8th at 3:52PM EST (link)I don’t understand why people are so upset given these are Gates recommendations and the budget is increasing.
Because it isn't a 4% increase it is a real decrease
Dave_in_Fla (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 4:36PM EST (link)Baseline + Supplemental > Baseline + 4%
Operations funded by the supplemental are not eliminated.
“If they were merely incompetent, then at least SOME of their actions would have been to the benefit of the country.” – Joe McCarthy
Since when...
Jingles (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 3:56PM EST (link)Is a 4% increase a cut?
2009 Pentagon budget: $513 billion
2010 proposed Pentagon budget: $534 billion
Not the OVER-ALL pentagon budget... it's the important parts that are being cut.
randy streu (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 4:05PM EST (link)A “budget increase” for the main organization IS NOT necessarily a budget increase for the correct department. Money for newer, better fighter planes is being cut. Weapons technology funding is being cut.
If O gave the pentagon another .04 increase to buy toilet paper or whatever, who the hell cares? The fact remains that he gutted actual DEFENSE spending. Get a clue.
Blogging also at
SLC Republitarian
The Minority Report
Thanks for clearing that up.
Jingles (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 4:16PM EST (link)n/t
welcome. nt
randy streu (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 4:18PM EST (link)nt
Blogging also at
SLC Republitarian
The Minority Report
What is a cut anyway?
benjjneb (Diary) Thursday, April 9th at 11:32AM EST (link)The Obama defense budget is being sold as a cut for two reasons.
First, the amount spent on Iraq and Afghanistan is decreasing. The current FY2010 budget has about $130B for those wars. As a reference, in recent years this spending was: 2006 – $122B, 2007 – $171, 2008 – $187B. So this funding is going down to presurge levels, which is to be expected given the administration’s plans.
Note, this spending IS NOT out of the $534B Pentagon budget. The $130B for Iraq and Afghanistan is separately allocated in the budget. The change from recent past is that this spending IS included in the total budget. In past years this was passed as supplemental spending, and therefore not included in budget or deficit numbers. This general practice is the reason why deficit numbers in recent years were far less than the increase in debt during those years. Significant government spending was done outside the budget and subsequently not included in the widely reported deficit numbers.
The second reason is that individual programs are being cut, as a result of a shift in focus by Sec. Gates. If one considers those individual programs by themselves instead of the whole budget, it will appear as a cut.
Jingles
MCPO_Airdale Wednesday, April 8th at 4:07PM EST (link)Since they rolled in the cost of two wars that had previously been paid for by a different appropriation.
You you being deliberately obtuse?
Interesting.
Jingles (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 4:19PM EST (link)I wasn’t being obtuse. I hadn’t realized that the wars weren’t part of last year’s budget. What was the previous appropriation, anyway?
Basically, the Army is eating a $50b real budget cut
Dave_in_Fla (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 4:29PM EST (link)Not a “reduction in rate of growth” that equates to a cut in the liberal social program world.
The Army must now fund the wars out of their baseline budget rather than the suplementals. This is why you see the cuts in FCS and MRAP. I’m also being informed that there are a large number of smaller programs that weren’t mentioned by Gates that are also being eliminated.
The common thread in all of these cuts are that future capability needs are being gutted in favor of current operations and systems. My suspicion is this reflects Obama’s belief that he will avoid wars through diplomacy, resulting in no need for modernization, only the need to support the current wars until they can be wound down.
“If they were merely incompetent, then at least SOME of their actions would have been to the benefit of the country.” – Joe McCarthy
I must have missed this
Jingles (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 4:42PM EST (link)Were there other multi-year operations that were funded primarily through supplemental funding requests? I ask because if we’ve been at war for as longs as we have been, why wasn’t the funding included in last year’s budget?
Afganistan and Iraq have always been funded by supplementals
Dave_in_Fla (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 7:44PM EST (link)This is the first budget where the operations are funded in the baseline. Notice we just increased our Afganistan commitment. The operations money must come from somewhere, so it comes out of development programs.
It wouldn’t be so galling if the rest of the government were on a diet. However, these cuts in real programs with tangible benefits (including domestically from an economic growth perspective), are occuring while we have $2b spent on Acorn, $1b sent to Hamas, and $20b wasted on GM just to delay bankruptcy for 3 months.
Remember that defense spending is almost 100% domestic, so fits the stimulus perspective. The only reason for this administration to cut, given their other actions, is a political decision to hurt the military.
“If they were merely incompetent, then at least SOME of their actions would have been to the benefit of the country.” – Joe McCarthy
Obama is doing to the US military exactly what
mbecker908 (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 4:47PM EST (link)democrats did to the South Vietnamese army in 1973. That little foray in statesmanship cost six million SE Asians their lives. This one may be significantly more expensive.
Sadly, I think you're right. This is why I encouraged
Achance (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 4:50PM EST (link)my son to get out last August. Unfortunately, he still has a reserve committment and there are things the Idiot in Chief could do that would cause me to encourage him to step over the Border.
In Vino Veritas
Absolutely right Achance...
mbecker908 (Diary) Wednesday, April 8th at 8:17PM EST (link)When GWB became President I encouraged my son to become a Marine. He did and it was a good decision. On November 5th of last year I was very pleased he got a medical discharge and can’t be called up.
It’s going to be really interesting to see what the “warrior class” of Col’s and Flag Officers do. I know of one instance in the Clinton Administration where Billy was backed down by an overt threat of retirement by every Marine Corps General over his desire to integrate women into USMC men’s boot camp.
Rather distressing
SG_Lominac (Diary) Thursday, April 9th at 9:10AM EST (link)as my son reports to bootcamp next wednesday. We’ve come full circle, I joined the Navy during the Carter years, my son joins during the Obama years. Like father, like son, he’s going to feel a little pain.
From the movie “Hard Times”
Jill Ireland: “What does it feel like to knock somebody down?”
Charles Bronson: “It makes me feel a hell of a lot better than it does him.”
Rather distressing
SG_Lominac (Diary) Thursday, April 9th at 9:10AM EST (link)as my son reports to bootcamp next wednesday. We’ve come full circle, I joined the Navy during the Carter years, my son joins during the Obama years. Like father, like son, he’s going to feel a little pain.
From the movie “Hard Times”
Jill Ireland: “What does it feel like to knock somebody down?”
Charles Bronson: “It makes me feel a hell of a lot better than it does him.”
This Is Typical Patronage Party Politics & Policy
IJB Wednesday, April 8th at 10:01PM EST (link)The other side doesn’t see the military as the last line of defense of this nation – they see the military as yet another “electoral group” that is political and ideologically hostile to the Democrat Party.
So what’s their answer to that? What it always is – defund all rival and hostile groups, while simultaneous doubling up funding to “allied” groups (e.g. ACORN, the UAW, etc.).
This is what happens when you see everything through a prism of ideological group politics and $$$$, and don’t put any other factors on your radar screen.
(Of course, the Dims are pretty dumb about this: defunding the military doesn’t get rid of all those hostile voters – it just scatters them throughout the country where they lie in wait like anti-revolutionary sleeper cells! Oh well, you can’t tell a Democrat what the smart thing to do is!…)
good point
Common_Cents (Diary) Thursday, April 9th at 11:34AM EST (link)all politics, all the time. The military is the left’s enemy except when they need them.
Obama=Golfer in Chief, Leading from,
behind, the Back Nine.Leaders don’t create movements. Movements create leaders. Get involved. Your future depends on it.
Govt “invests” YOUR tax money for POLITICAL return rather than economic return.
If the Bail out money would have gone to the Defence budget
Maggie_in_Indiana (Diary) Thursday, April 9th at 11:47AM EST (link)I would have stood up and cheered. Just read the headlines . We are surrounded by folks who hate us. Obama knows it and thnks if he lays down his gun they won’t shoot him. Now that;s just stupid. This is the opportunity the enemies of freedom have been waiting for,and they are about to get it. 4% big deal,but let’s dismantle our nukes. How safe do you r-e-a-l-l-y feel?
Maggie in Indiana