If I have heard correctly, Obama intends to defund our missile defence program. I think that program also explores other new defensive and offensive weaponry. Maybe he believes that the money could be better spent on domestic programs. The problem that I have with that is if we do not maintain our lead in technology, there are a number of nations out there who would love to exterminate us. Entitlements aren't worth much when you are dead.
We have all heard of the weapon that uses a nuclear blast to generate an electrical pulse that destroys electronic circuits. Just one of these set off above our country would cripple it. Even if all of our systems were not destroyed, enough would be to disrupt everything that depends on computers, and that is everything. We would lose communications, electricity, fuel and grocery distribution. How would we survive? Starvation in this scenario is not impossible. Exactly how much damage a single bomb could do is unknown, but do we want to find out?
In the recent tests that Iran conducted, I read that they launched a scud missile from a FREIGHTER. How difficult would it be to sail a freighter near any of our shores and launch a scud? That limited range missile could easily reach enough altitude to deliver a killer strike.
I DO NOT want a president who refuses to recognize the possibility for potential disaster.
Of course, he could change his mind, maybe.

He has been very clear that he will cut back the military budget including R&D and suspend missile defense or as he calls it "the militarization of space" .

I see a lot of sense in his plan (This is off his website)

The Problem

A 20th Century Structure for 21st Century Problems: We have inherited a national security structure that was developed and organized in the late 1940s to win the Cold War. It remains a rigid bureaucracy of government agencies, relying upon a restrictive and disconnected set of legal authorities.

New Leadership and Vision is Needed: America simply cannot afford more of the old approach to our national defense. Instead, it needs a Commander-in-Chief with the right combination of judgment, vision, and leadership for the 21st century.

A Military Under Strain: Currently, our soldiers, seamen, airmen and Marines are deployed around the globe, working valiantly to defend our nation. Yet, these heroes are under-resourced and asked to do too much by a policy that has too often taken their sacrifice for granted. Due to their incredible courage and ingenuity, they persevere, but at incredible cost to themselves and their families.

Recruitment and Retention Problems: A country of 300 million strong should not struggle to find enough qualified citizens to serve. Recruiting and retention problems have been swept under the rug by an administration that does not understand the value of service to our nation.

A System Not Serving our Troops as Well as They Serve Us: As the shameful events at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the recent reports on growing numbers of homeless and unemployed veterans show, we simply are not taking proper care of our wounded warriors and veterans.
Barack Obama's Plan
Invest in a 21st Century Military

* Rebuild the Military for 21st Century Tasks: As we rebuild our armed forces, we must not simply recreate the military of the Cold War era. Obama believes that we must build up our special operations forces, civil affairs, information operations, and other units and capabilities that remain in chronic short supply; invest in foreign language training, cultural awareness, and human intelligence and other needed counterinsurgency and stabilization skill sets; and create a more robust capacity to train, equip, and advise foreign security forces, so that local allies are better prepared to confront mutual threats.
* Expand to Meet Military Needs on the Ground: Barack Obama supports plans to increase the size of the Army by 65,000 soldiers and the Marines by 27,000 troops. Increasing our end strength will help units retrain and re-equip properly between deployments and decrease the strain on military families.
* Leadership from the Top: Barack Obama will restore the ethic of public service to the agenda of today's youth, whether it be serving their local communities in such roles as teachers or first responders, or serving in the military to keep our nation free and safe.
* Lighten the Burdens on Our Brave Troops and Their Families: An Obama administration will create a Military Families Advisory Board to provide a conduit for military families' concerns to be brought to the attention of senior policymakers and the public. Obama will end the Bush administration's stop-loss policy and establish predictability in deployments so that active duty and reserves know what they can and must expect.

Build Defense Capabilities for the 21st Century

* Fully Equip Our Troops for the Missions They Face: Barack Obama believes we must get vitally needed equipment to our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines before lives are lost. We cannot repeat such failures as the delays in deployment of armored vehicles, body armor and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles that save lives on the frontlines.
* Review Weapons Programs: We must rebalance our capabilities to ensure that our forces have the agility and lethality to succeed in both conventional wars and in stabilization and counter-insurgency operations. Obama has committed to a review of each major defense program in light of current needs, gaps in the field, and likely future threat scenarios in the post-9/11 world.
* Preserve Global Reach in the Air: We must preserve our unparalleled airpower capabilities to deter and defeat any conventional competitors, swiftly respond to crises across the globe, and support our ground forces. We need greater investment in advanced technology ranging from the revolutionary, like Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and electronic warfare capabilities, to essential systems like the C-17 cargo and KC-X air refueling aircraft, which provide the backbone of our ability to extend global power.
* Maintain Power Projection at Sea: We must recapitalize our naval forces, replacing aging ships and modernizing existing platforms, while adapting them to the 21st century. Obama will add to the Maritime Pre-Positioning Force Squadrons to support operations ashore and invest in smaller, more capable ships, providing the agility to operate close to shore and the reach to rapidly deploy Marines to global crises.
* National Missile Defense: An Obama administration will support missile defense, but ensure that it is developed in a way that is pragmatic and cost-effective; and, most importantly, does not divert resources from other national security priorities until we are positive the technology will protect the American public.
* Ensure Freedom of Space: An Obama administration will restore American leadership on space issues, seeking a worldwide ban on weapons that interfere with military and commercial satellites. He will thoroughly assess possible threats to U.S. space assets and the best options, military and diplomatic, for countering them, establishing contingency plans to ensure that U.S. forces can maintain or duplicate access to information from space assets and accelerating programs to harden U.S. satellites against attack.
* Protect the U.S in Cyberspace: An Obama administration will work in cooperation with our allies and the private sector to identify and protect against emerging cyber-threats.

Restore the Readiness of the National Guard and Reserves

* Barack Obama will provide the National Guard with the equipment it needs for foreign and domestic emergencies and time to restore and refit before deploying. He will make the head of the National Guard a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to ensure concerns of our citizen soldiers reach the level they mandate. He will ensure that reservists and Guard members are treated fairly when it comes to employment, health, and education benefits.

Develop Whole of Government Initiatives to Promote Global Stability

* Integrate Military and Civilian Efforts: An Obama administration will build up the capacity of each non-Pentagon agency to deploy personnel and area experts where they are needed, to help move soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines out of civilian roles.
* Create a Civilian Assistance Corps (CAC): An Obama administration will set a goal of creating a national CAC of 25,000 personnel. This corps of civilian volunteers with special skill, sets (doctors, lawyers, engineers, city planners, agriculture specialists, police, etc.) would be organized to provide each federal agency with a pool of volunteer experts willing to deploy in times of need at home and abroad.

Restore Our Alliances

* Engage Our Allies in Meeting Our Common Security Challenges: America's traditional alliances, such as NATO, must be transformed and strengthened, including on common security concerns like Afghanistan, homeland security, and counterterrorism. Obama will renew alliances and ensure our allies contribute their fair share to our mutual security.
* Organize to Help Our Partners and Allies in Need: An Obama administration will expand humanitarian activities that build friends and allies at the regional and local level (such as during the response to the tsunami in South and Southeast Asia), and win hearts and minds in the process.

Reform Contracting

* Create Transparency for Military Contractors: Barack Obama will require the Pentagon and State Department to develop a strategy for determining when contracting makes sense, rather than continually handing off governmental jobs to well-connected companies. An Obama administration will create the transparency and accountability needed for good governance. Finally, it will establish the legal status of contractor personnel, making possible prosecution of any abuses committed by private military contractors.
* Restore Honesty, Openness, and Commonsense to Contracting and Procurement: An Obama administration will realize savings by reducing the corruption and cost overruns that have become all too routine in defense contracting. This includes launching a program of acquisition reform and management, which would end the common practice of no-bid contracting. He will end the abuse of supplemental budgets by creating a system of oversight for war funds as stringent as in the regular budget. He will restore the government's ability to manage contracts by rebuilding our contract officer corps. He will order the Justice Department to prioritize prosecutions that will punish and deter fraud, waste and abuse.


He made so many great points in there. He wants to help our troops have everything they need to fight a war unlike how it is now. He also wants to build up our defense

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Originally Posted by sGt HarDKorE

Recruitment and Retention Problems: A country of 300 million strong should not struggle to find enough qualified citizens to serve. Recruiting and retention problems have been swept under the rug by an administration that does not understand the value of service to our nation.

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I guess the wannabe CIC missed this... just like the rest of us thanks to the non-coverage:

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Media Celebrates Successful U.S. Military Recruitment Stats? Not Really!

By Warner Todd Huston (Bio | Archive)
July 11, 2008 - 02:51 ET

The Armed Forces Press Service issued a press release on Thursday morning, July 10, in celebration of the fact that the U.S. military has had 13 consecutive months of meeting and/or exceeding recruitment goals. Sadly, the media stayed sullenly quite all day, taking no notice of the success of our military on OR off the field.

Regardless of the fact that the media ignored the good news, there is good news, indeed.

The June recruiting and retention figures reflect recruiters’ hard work and young people’s continued willingness to step up and serve, Lainez said. The Army signed up 9,365 new soldiers in June, 101 percent of its 9,250-soldier goal. The Marine Corps recruited 4,531 Marines, topping its monthly goal of 3,934 recruits by 15 percent. The Navy met its goal of 4,209 sailors, and the Air Force brought in 2,203 airmen, six recruits over its June goal.

The numbers for the reserves and National Guard were also strong and retention also rolled on a pace.

Of course, when the media does bother to report on military recruitment being up they still have to focus on the supposed "unpopularity" of the war even as they report that the military seems to have little trouble making their recruitment goals.

So what about that "unpopular war," anyway? Isn't it affecting the armed services?

"There were concerns about how today’s fight would affect retention, and yet, retention has been as strong as any period in our history,” he (Bill Carr, deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel and policy) said on the all-volunteer force’s 35th anniversary. “Volunteers want to serve; their performance is strong, their behaviors are strong, and their discipline is high."

So, the big question is: where are the media on this?

Well, the answer would be that the media are in the same place on reporting healthy recruiting goals being easily met by the U.S. military as they are reporting on the incredible successes seen in Iraq. Consistently silent.

The media are obviously so out to discredit the U.S. military that they refuse to even report the news.

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Originally Posted by Galveston1

If I have heard correctly, Obama intends to defund our missle defence program..... We have all heard of the weapon that uses a nuclear blast to generate an electrical pulse that destroys electronic circuits. Just one of these set off above our country would cripple it..... I DO NOT want a president who refuses to recognize the possibility for potential disaster.

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Hello again, Gal:

If you only knew some stuff... Oh well, that's why I'M here...

You talk about this weapon as though you're firmly convinced that you're protected from it NOW...

You aren't!! The missile defense program doesn't work. It NEVER has. It probably NEVER will. They've been trying to make it work for more than 20 years with little success. It ISN'T protecting anything, except the huge salary's the defense contractors are making...

I'd like a president who understands reality.

excon

Criticizing Success? The Test of the Long-Range Missile Defense System

Hello tom:

I didn't say NO success. I said LITTLE success. Maybe in another 20 years and a few trillion more $$$'s, they might get a system that can knock out 98% of the incoming missiles...

But, since there are THOUSANDS of missiles pointed our way, that'll mean that 30 or 40 will get through. So, even if it WORKS, I wouldn't call it a safety net - not even close - specially since YOURS, MINE, and Galvestons cities will certainly be destroyed.

excon

Has a greater chance than converting our "fossil fuel " economy to renewables .

But the truth is that we are not overly concerned with the Ruskie missiles . They had thousands pointed at us and never shot them .It's the missiles from the Mahdi-hatter and the loon in North Korea... or the one some future OBL gets his hands on that concern us.

The budget not only covers missile defense, but searches for new technologies. In this world it is not a race we can afford to lose. Obama thinks we can talk our enemies out of killing us. I think he must have rose colored glasses.

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Originally Posted by Galveston1

In this world it is not a race we can afford to lose. Obama thinks we can talk our enemies out of killing us. I think he must have rose colored glasses.

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Bubkes! Narishkeit! Leadership is supposed to be able to communicate. George W. Bush and John McCain wouldn't know diplomacy if Ronald Reagan resurrected and gave them a lecture himself.

YouTube - "Apocalypse Now" McCain: An Israeli opponent

Bobby, I'm not saying we shouldn't talk, but you have to negotiate with these kind of people from a position of strength. Anything less is considered a weakness that will be taken advantage of.
BTW, do you think Israel will do nothing while Iran developes a nuclear war head? (Just asking for your thoughts.)

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Originally Posted by Galveston1

Bobby, I'm not saying we shouldn't talk, but you have to negotiate with these kind of people from a position of strength. Anything less is considered a weakness that will be taken advantage of.

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One thing that bothers me is that Israelis have enough responsibilities without the addition of feeding a frenzy due to White House aspirations. The candidates themselves, with all their ambitions, talk of displaying American muscle is that always good? I wonder how much that actually hurts Israel more than it helps. I think for the most part our politicians have good intentions toward Israel, but I do question the extra unnecessary pressure it manufactures upon the small country.

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Originally Posted by Galveston1

BTW, do you think Israel will do nothing while Iran developes a nuclear war head? (Just asking for your thoughts.)

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IMO... well I'll give you two scenarios:

1) If Iran's energy program is deemed to entail more, than I expect Israel to involve special ops for a few excursions.

2) Not much if anything. Israel has had nuclear warheads aimed at Iran with their name written on it for decades now. That will remain unchanged.

I am more inclined to believe option 1. I had a running dialogue a while back with someone who's thesis was that M.A.D. was a viable policy in the M.E.I countered that by necessity ,all it's neighbors would seek nukes and proliferation would be out of control.

Unless you think the Mahdi-hatter's rhetoric is pure political calculation aimed at his own domestic audience then you have to take his bombastic threats seriously . I am under no illusions that if he had the means to bring on that final conflict that would end with the return of the Mahdi then he will do it.

Even if not ;the pressure Israel would be under with a nuclear Iran would be unbearable. Hamas and Hezbollah are already client terrorist groups of Iran .Imagine them having the protection of a nuclear state .