Defense Dept. to reduce Army to pre-WWII levels

CNN: …The proposed cuts will probably draw sharp criticism from some members of Congress, especially those with large Army bases in their states and districts, or whose economies depend on building and servicing parts for the Air Force planes that will be eliminated.

In other words, this is what conservatives (among others) will be whining about next. reducing the Army to an actual peace time level for the first time in in nearly 75 years. They don’t want the pork barrel spending spree to end, because they’re such paragons of fiscal constraint.
[photo by Don O’Brien]

Fox News’ sick priorities

ThinkProgress: Fox News host Andrea Tantaros attacked MSNBC for covering the Senate military sexual assault hearings on Tuesday instead of the concurrent House IRS hearings, saying “what they consider to be priorities” is “unbelievable”.

On the June 4 edition of The Andrea Tantaros Show, Tantaros, who is a co-host of Fox News’ The Five, said:

“Sex crimes in a military, they are a real issue. There’s no doubt about that. I’m not going to poo poo it and say it’s not. What baffles me though is the way they prioritize these issues. The timing and the tone of them. If these were liberal groups targeted by George W. Bush, they would not be covering sex assault in the military. … Why is MSNBC devoting so much time to this issue when, as David Axelrod points out, there are so many other issues to deal with?”

Media Matters reports that on June 4, MSNBC devoted an hour and twenty minutes to the eight-hour sexual assault hearing, and an hour and thirteen minutes to the IRS hearing. Meanwhile, on the same day, Fox News spent four hours on the IRS hearing and a scant 14 minutes on the sexual assault hearing.

So MSNBC devotes roughly equal time to the two hearing, while Fox virtually ignores one in favor of wall-to-wall coverage of the other. Priorities!

And what a dull four hours that must’ve been, since the IRS hearings have so far resulted in almost nothing newsworthy. The health of the IRS “scandal” is so poor that Republicans are forced to put it on life support.

The idea that sexual assault in the military is a 14 minute story in a 24 hour news cycle is ridiculous. And, as you may recall, much of what little coverage they’ve given the issue has been appalling.

Huffington Post: Fox News pundit Liz Trotta made a series of incendiary statements about rape in the military during a Sunday appearance on the network.

Trotta was reacting to news that the military will allow women to work closer to the front lines. Speaking to Fox News host Eric Shawn, she alleged that feminists wanted “to be warriors and victims at the same time.”

She cited a recent Pentagon report that sex crimes committed by army personnel have increased by 64% over the past six years. Then she made a startling statement:

“I think they have actually discovered there is a difference between men and women. And the sexual abuse report says that there has been, since 2006, a 64% increase in violent sexual assaults. Now, what did they expect? These people are in close contact, the whole airing of this issue has never been done by Congress, it’s strictly been a question of pressure from the feminists.”

So really, Fox News shriekers get to STFU about media priorities and rape in the military.

Hating the Heroes

A leftover bookmark from my earlier post on the politics of hate.

ABC News:

Air Force Lt. Col. Victor Fehrenbach has flown on dozens of combat missions over Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo as an F-15E Strike Eagle weapons officer. His commanders have called him a "war hero," "superstar" and "#1 officer/aviator."

But now Fehrenbach is flying into the fight of his career -- this time in a federal courtroom and under fire from the military he's spent 19 years serving.

A U.S. Air Force panel has recommended Fehrenbach be discharged immediately under the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bars openly gay and lesbian service members from the force. His attorneys are asking a federal judge to find the policy unconstitutional.

Fehrenbach is one of the highest-ranking military officers investigated for homosexual conduct. A discharge before September 2011 would cost him valuable military retirement benefits awarded to those who serve at least 20 years.

I'm sorry, who's besmirching American heroism again? Seems to me that a Muslim community center in New York has nothing at all to do with this. In fact, it seems to me that rightwing homophobia is more of the issue here. But let's go ahead and ignore this example of the military shedding its finest officers for no good reason in a time of war, because there's no political advantage to Republicans in correcting this.

Cucolo Backs Off Court Martial Threat

After getting flack for threatening to court martial military women who get pregnant in northern Iraq (and the men who do the impregnating), Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo is backpedaling.

ABC News:

An Army general in Iraq backed away from his threat today to court martial female soldiers who get pregnant.

"I see absolutely no circumstance where I would punish a female soldier by court martial for a violation ... none," Maj. Gen. Anthony Cucolo III wrote to ABC News in an exclusive statement. " I fully intend to handle these cases through lesser disciplinary action."

Cucolo triggered debate, some of it angry, when his Nov. 4 policy forbidding pregnancy among his soldiers became public recently. His policy statement said violation of the rule could be punishable by court martial, and that it would also apply to the men who get female soldiers pregnant, even if the couple is married.

While legal and military experts said the order was proper, a spokeswoman for the National Organization for Women called it "ridiculous."

That the quote comes from a feminist organization says a lot. As I wrote this morning, the anti-abortion types have been silent on this, despite the fact that it so obviously encourages abortion.

If you're against abortion and this rule bothered you, consider that NOW did more to mitigate this than any "pro-life" group out there.

Griper Blade: Shooting Down Missile Defense

Long, long ago, shrouded in the mists of ancient history (i.e., December 2006), I wrote a post I titled "The Only Purpose of Missile Defense is to Waste Money." At that point in time, we had blown $95 billion on missile defense systems since Ronald Reagan jotted his "Star Wars" notion on the back of a matchbook. What we got out of all this spending and research was nothing. We still have no working missile defense system. Worse, after the fall of the Soviet Union, missile defense became a solution in search of a problem -- its reason for being is to counter a threat that no longer exists.

In that post, I wrote:

So why is the Bush administration pushing this? Did I mention that we've spent $95 billion on it? Throwing pots of cash at defense contractors is what Bush does. It doesn't make any difference whether or not it works -- a failed test is exactly as expensive as a successful one -- the only thing that matters is that it allows people who are already unbelievably rich to reach into your wallet and grab your tax dollars. Who cares if it works?

Oddly, with all the Republican complaining about wasteful spending, missile defense hasn't really made an appearance. Obama has signaled that he might be open to placing a missile defense system in Poland, so it's not like the subject hasn't come up. For the GOP, wasteful spending means monitoring volcanoes so we're prepared for eruptions, not throwing money at stupid-expensive missile systems that may not actually work and have never been adequately tested. Bailing you out because you got suckered into a crap mortgage is "pork," while throwing billions at defense contractors for what amounts to a lucky charm is sound fiscal policy.

Starting to see how we got into this economic mess in the first place?... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]

Griper Blade: 'The Only Solution Given is Pills'

The Army has a bit of a problem. Despite efforts to curb suicide among troops, Army suicides continue to rise. "One week after the U.S. Army announced record suicide rates among its soldiers last year, the service is worried about a spike in possible suicides in the new year," CNN reported yesterday. "The Army said it already has confirmed seven suicides, with 17 additional cases pending that it believes investigators will confirm as suicides for January.

"If those prove true, more soldiers will have killed themselves than died in combat last month. According to Pentagon statistics, there were 16 U.S. combat deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq in January."

In fact, the Army has seen a rise in suicide every year for the past four years. To combat the problem, the service has created a "battle-buddy" program, which is basically the buddy system for suicide, but this has turned out to be as ineffective as you might have thought it would be.

In 2005, in testimony to a House Appropriations subcommittee, the Army’s surgeon general placed the blame squarely on the troops. "That’s still part of our culture: Real men don’t see [mental health counselors]…" said Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley. "I would like to see a culture that resets the force mentally." Macho, tough guy culture was killing troops, but it seems a pretty safe assumption that this culture had been with the Army longer than its suicide problem. I don't remember the Army having a previous reputation as being a place for sharing and emotional support. Clearly, this "real men" culture -- which, of course, includes real women -- may be aggravating the problem, but it couldn't possibly be the cause.

For their part, the Army seems at a loss to explain the real cause of the suicides. "This is terrifying," Col. Kathy Platoni, chief clinical psychologist for the Army Reserve and National Guard told CNN. "We do not know what is going on." She speculated that maybe it was winter blahs.

"There is more hopelessness and helplessness because everything is so dreary and cold," she said.

"But Platoni said she sees the multiple deployments, stigma associated with seeking treatment and the excessive use of anti-depressants as ongoing concerns for mental-health professionals who work with soldiers," CNN reported.

Now we're getting someplace... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]

Griper Blade: A Ban in Search of a Reason for Being

In March 2007, Stephen Benjamin was discharged from the Navy. An Arabic language translator, Benjamin fell prey to Bill Clinton's absurd 1993 compromise policy of "don't ask, don't tell." Under that rule, gays are allowed to serve in the military, but only so long as it's a big secret. If you tell anyone about your sexual orientation, for any reason, you're out. In Benjamin's case, it was text messages -- intercepted by military censors -- that made it clear that he and a former roommate stationed in Iraq were gay. They were fired.

"My supervisors did not want to lose me," he wrote in the New York Times in June of that same year. "Most of my peers knew I was gay, and that didn’t bother them. I was always accepted as a member of the team. And my experience was not anomalous: polls of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan show an overwhelming majority are comfortable with gays. Many were aware of at least one gay person in their unit and had no problem with it."

Despite a "desperate shortage of linguists," the Navy thought it was more important that intercepted intelligence pile up untranslated than to let some gay guy translate them. This is supposed to serve our national interests, because allowing gays to serve would somehow harm "unit cohesion." Seems to me that breaking up units to preserve their "cohesion" is astonishingly ludicrous -- it's like arguing you have to get divorced to save your marriage... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]

Griper Blade: Shinseki the Realist

I would say that what's been mobilized to this point -- something on the order of several hundred thousand soldiers are probably, you know, a figure that would be required. We're talking about posthostilities control over a piece of geography that's fairly significant, with the kinds of ethnic tensions that could lead to other problems. And so it takes a significant ground-force presence.
-General Eric Shinseki to Sen. Carl Levin of the Senate Armed Services Committee, on the size of the force required to invade Iraq, 2003.

That got Shinseki fired. Then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had long argued that the US needed to use a lighter force, with the emphasis on speed, and that anything else was fighting a 21st century war from a cold war mindset. Needless to say, Shinseki was right. Rumsfeld's strategy was shortsighted and simpleminded. When we invaded Iraq, our forces were too few to defend gains. We'd chase fighters off, declare victory, then roll of in a triumphant cloud of dust. Then the fighters would return and we'd be gone. This boneheaded "strategy" of Rumsfeld's had entirely predictable results. We'd chase off Iraqi guards from munitions stores, roll off in our big American cloud, and leave these ammo dumps completely unguarded, because we didn't have enough personnel to leave behind. Munitions captured by militias and terrorists are probably still being used as IEDs to this day. Donald Rumsfeld's brilliant plan for a light, fast fighting force was just as idiotic as it seemed to be.

But before all that happened, before Shinseki was proven right, the general was forced into retirement for not buying the neocon line. Rumsfeld said Shinseki's estimate in senate testimony "will prove to be high." Deputy SecDef Paul Wolfowitz said his numbers were "way off the mark."

It wasn't until 2006 that anyone admitted that Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz had bet on the wrong horse. "General Shinseki was right," Gen. John Abizaid, chief of U.S. Central Command, told that same committee three years later. Bush's "surge," while coming too late to correct the neocon vision for the military of the future, was basically an admission -- three years after the fact -- that Shinseki was right and the Rumsfeldian's side of the argument was as wrong as any ten year-old could've told them they were. As a result, Bush wound up claiming success for his surge, although the decrease in violence was due more to successful ethnic cleansing campaigns by militias and insurgents that might have been avoided. Violence had died down not because of an increased military presence, but because the killers had run out of people to kill. Rumsfeld's brilliant new strategy not only cost him his own job, but also countless lives. Entire neighborhoods went dark, the residents either dead or refugees...

[CLICK TO READ FULL POST]

US, Poland Sign Missile Deal

clipped from news.bbc.co.uk The US and Poland have signed a deal to locate part of the US's controversial missile defence system on Polish soil. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice travelled to Warsaw for the ceremony, after 18 months of negotiations. The deal has angered Russia, which has warned the base could become a target for a nuclear strike. Washington says the system will protect the US and much of Europe against missile attacks from "rogue elements" in the Middle East such as Iran. Speaking during the signing ceremony at the presidential palace in Warsaw, she emphasised that the missile system was "defensive and aimed at no-one". Russia's deputy chief of general staff, Gen Anatoly Nogovitsyn, said last week the plans for a missile base in Poland "could not go unpunished". "It is a cause for regret that at a time when we are already in a difficult situation, the American side further exacerbates the situation in relations between the United States and Russia," he said.

A few points to consider here:

1. This is being put across as a response to the Russo-Georgian crisis, but dumbass moves like this are actually one of the causes.

2. It's a BS system that doesn't work about 99% of the time.

3. Russia's statement that it would be the target of a nuke attack is a statement of fact, not a threat. If Russia ever feels the need to launch an attack on anyone, they'd take out these missile defense systems first, as ineffective as they are. Poland is foolishly painting a big bullseye on their back.

Military Trials Shrouded in Secrecy

clipped from www.editorandpublisher.com Military trials and criminal hearings are virtual Star Chambers, a report issued Friday by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) says. RCFP found the public and the press has only a "slim chance" of discovering even the existence of criminal hearings and trials conducted by U.S. armed forces here and abroad. Among the findings: 45% (34 bases) refused to provide any information for upcoming Article 32 hearings. 37% (28 bases) declined to disclose courts-martial schedules. Just 27% (20 bases) provided a complete docket for upcoming Article 32 hearings Just 36% (27 bases) provided a complete docket for upcoming courts-martial schedules. Base officials at about 20% of the plants agreed to provide docketing information for Article 32 hearings and courts-martial -- but then withheld such basic details as the defendant's name and the charges being brought.

The piece goes on:

"The right to a fair and public trial is a bedrock principle of democracy," said RCFP Executive Director Lucy A. Dalglish. "Unfortunately, in this regard, members of the armed services have fewer rights than those granted to criminal defendants in civilian courts. We believe that, at a minimum, the armed services should create an easily accessible docket‚ of information listing those charged, details regarding the charges against them and the date and time of their trials and pre-trials."

Griper Blade: Occupation, Inc.

The number being reported is "at least $85 billion," but when talking about money and Iraq, the truth is always murky. In a war practically run by war profiteers, the number is likely to be higher. The upper estimate of the amount of public dollars we've paid private contractors in Iraq is more than $100 billion. Normally, erring on the side of caution would require you to assume the lower figure -- which is why that number is being used in the media. But when we consider the history of waste, corruption, and corporate malfeasance involved in the occupation of Iraq, the higher number seems the safer estimate.

The higher figure comes from Voice of America. In their story, the cite Peter Orszag of the Congressional Budget Office [CBO], who said, "The federal government has awarded $85 billion in contracts for work in [the] Iraq theater through 2007. If you included this year, the total would exceed $100 billion: roughly one of every $5 for the cost of the war in Iraq." The piece goes on:

Orszag says the use of private contractors in U.S. military engagements is not new. What is new, however, is the extent of the reliance on private firms. The Iraq war marks the first time in which the number of private personnel has equaled or exceeded the number of military personnel. By contrast, the CBO report notes that, during World War II, military personnel outnumbered private contractors by a ratio of seven-to-one.

Given what they're being paid and how much we're relying on them, you'd think that private contractors are doing just an astonishingly great job of whatever the hell it is we're hiring them to do.

Of course, you'd be wrong...

[CLICK TO READ FULL POST]

UK PM Brown Talks Troop Withdrawal

clipped from www.guardian.co.uk Gordon Brown today paved the way for the withdrawal of British troops from Iraq, promising a "fundamental change" of mission in the first half of 2009. In a Commons statement, the prime minister heaped praise on the work of British soldiers and insisted the security situation in Basra had been "transformed". "We will continue to reduce the number of British troops in Iraq," Brown said. "Just as last year we moved from combat to 'overwatch', we would expect a further fundamental change of mission in the first months of 2009 as we make the transition to a long term bilateral partnership with Iraq, similar to the normal relationships which our military forces have with other important countries in the region."

Over at Political Wire, Taegan Goddard calls this "Another Gift for Obama," noting that this has happened just "days in advance of Sen. Barack Obama's stop in London."

John McCain becomes even more isolated in the world.

Obama 'Welcomes' Maliki's Support for Withdrawal

That didn't take long...

clipped from www.bloomberg.com Senator Barack Obama ``welcomes'' news that Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki supports his call for the U.S. to withdraw troops in about 16 months, according to a statement from an adviser to the Democratic presidential candidate. ``This presents an important opportunity to transition to Iraqi responsibility, while restoring our military and increasing our commitment to finish the fight in Afghanistan,'' Susan Rice, senior national security adviser for Obama's presidential campaign, said in an e-mailed statement today. ``The Americans have had a difficult time agreeing to a concrete time table for a pullout because they believe this would be perceived as a defeat,'' Maliki told the magazine. ``But that is not the case.''

Barack Obama's response to Maliki's assertion that "Obama is right" about a16-month timetable for withdrawal.

Electrical Hazards Plague Troops in Iraq

clipped from www.nytimes.com Shoddy electrical work by private contractors on United States military bases in Iraq is widespread and dangerous, causing more deaths and injuries from fires and shocks than the Pentagon has acknowledged, according to internal Army documents. During just one six-month period — August 2006 through January 2007 — at least 283 electrical fires destroyed or damaged American military facilities in Iraq, including the military’s largest dining hall in the country, documents obtained by The New York Times show. Two soldiers died in an electrical fire at their base near Tikrit in 2006, the records note, while another was injured while jumping from a burning guard tower in May 2007. Electrical problems were the most urgent noncombat safety hazard for soldiers in Iraq, according to an Army survey issued in February 2007.

Good thing we went with no-bid contracts, huh? Otherwise, totally disreputable contractors might be burning down buildings and electrocuting people in showers, instead of Kellog, Brown, and Root who coincidentally are big buds of the White House.

This way, we only get the very finest quality electrical hazards, fires, and deaths.

Report Slams 'Striking Lack of Recollection' in Tillman, Lynch Cases

clipped from thehill.com A proposed report on the misleading information released following the fratricide of ex-NFL player Cpl. Pat Tillman and the rescue of Pvt. Jessica Lynch slams the administration’s “near universal lack of recall” on the issue. “Cpl. Tillman and Pvt. Lynch are the two most famous soldiers in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars,” the proposed report of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said. The document, which will be voted on Thursday, called the “misinformation” in both cases an “unconscionable distraction from their actual service and heroism.” Following Tillman’s friendly-fire death in Afghanistan, his family and the public were led to believe that he was killed by enemies. It was also revealed that the first version of Lynch’s capture had been embellished.

The article goes on:

“On the key issue of what senior officials knew, the investigation was frustrated by a near universal lack of recall,” the proposed report stated. “The committee interviewed several senior officials at the White House, including communications director Dan Bartlett, press secretary Scott McClellan and chief speechwriter Michael Gerson. Not a single one could recall when he learned about the fratricide or what he did in response.”

It's weird how politicians always develop amnesia when they're in trouble, isn't it?

Pentagon Report Calls for Steep Iraq Drawdown

clipped from www.newsweek.com Barack Obama is taking heat for hinting that he might refine his 16-month timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq. But a forthcoming Pentagon-sponsored report will recommend an even steeper drawdown in less time, NEWSWEEK has learned. If adopted, the 300-page report by a defense analysis group at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., could transform the debate about Iraq in the presidential election. Expected to be completed in about a month, it will recommend that U.S. forces be reduced to as few as 50,000 by the spring of 2009, down from about 150,000 now. The strategy is based on a major handoff to the increasingly successful Iraqi Army, with platoon-size U.S. detachments backing the Iraqis from small outposts, with air support. The large U.S. forward operating bases that house the bulk of U.S. troops would be mostly abandoned, and the role of Special Forces would increase.

So, does this timetable mean the Pentagon wants the terr'ists to win or does it make them Nazi appeasers, like Neville Chamberlain? I get my GOP talking points mixed up.

Either way, it's 180 degrees away from what Bush and McCain have been saying.

Tanker Rebid May Hurt McCain's Chances

Nice to see that someone's making the connection:

clipped from www.politico.com As the Pentagon mounts a new effort to buy $35 billion in aerial refueling tankers, the controversy engulfing the competition could haunt John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee. McCain helped ensure that Northrop Grumman and its partner, the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., remained in the competition against Boeing Co. And Boeing supporters may start asking about his role. “I have to think there will be some question about the obvious external pressure that this group was experiencing,” said George Behan, spokesman for Rep. Norm Dicks (D-Wash.). The congressman is not a member of the House subcommittee but plans to sit in on its hearing. McCain has a long history with the tanker program. He helped derail an earlier sole-source lease deal with Boeing that ended in a scandal for the company and the Air Force.

The bid for the tanker was set for a redo because of "significant errors" in the original process. Given McCain's history here, his fingerprints should be all over the problem.

Here's hoping it also opens up the issue of McCain's cozy relationship with defense contractors and his involvement in the pork project/scam of the "missile shield."

Griper Blade: McCain's Favorite Pork Product

Iran, late in joining us in celebrating the Fourth of July, shot off a few rockets yesterday. They plan to make up for their tardiness by firing off more today. According to the media and the right, the proper response to this news is, "Oh my freakin' God, oh sweet Jesus, we're all gonna die!"

Although some think the big news is that Iran apparently Photoshopped an extra missile in a photo released to the press, the actually story is that Iran shot off some rockets -- that's the big deal here.

In fact, the Photoshop story's not even secondary -- or tertiary or quaternary. It's trivia. "Authoritarian state releases propaganda" is not exactly earth-shattering news. No, the other story was the US presidential candidates' reactions to the Iran's action. Where Obama called for a diplomatic response, John McCain called on the US to shovel more money down a useless rathole...

[CLICK TO READ FULL POST]

Air Force to Re-Open Bidding on Tanker

clipped from www.mcclatchydc.com The Pentagon will reopen the competition for a $35 billion aerial refueling tanker contract, Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Wash., said today after talking with Defense Department officials. Details of the "accelerated" competition were not immediately clear, but Defense Secretary Robert Gates was scheduled to hold a news conference early this afternoon. "It's better than a split buy or other options," Dicks said. "But the devil will be in the details." The announcement came three weeks after congressional auditors found the Air Force made "significant errors" in awarding the contract to Northrop Grumman and the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. (EADS). Without those errors, the Government Accountability Office said Boeing would have had a "substantial" chance of wining the contract.

Those "significant errors?" Yeah, those were actually interference from lobbyists who were also working for the McCain campaign.

Mr. McCain’s top advisers, including a co-chairman of his presidential campaign, were lobbyists for EADS. And Mr. McCain had written to the Defense Department, urging it to ignore a trade dispute between the United States and Europe over whether Airbus received improper subsidies. Mr. McCain said that he was asking the Air Force only to maintain a level playing field as it considered the two bids.

Given how crooked this deal turned out to be, I think people who are considering voting for McCain are making a "significant error." It wouldn't surprise me if the rebid were designed to take heat off Baghdad Johnny.

Study: End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

clipped from ap.google.com Congress should repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" law because the presence of gays in the military is unlikely to undermine the ability to fight and win, according to a new study released by a California-based research center. The study was conducted by four retired military officers, including the three-star Air Force lieutenant general who in early 1993 was tasked with implementing President Clinton's policy that the military stop questioning recruits on their sexual orientation. "Evidence shows that allowing gays and lesbians to serve openly is unlikely to pose any significant risk to morale, good order, discipline or cohesion," the officers states. Supporters of the ban contend there is still no empirical evidence that allowing gays to serve openly won't hurt combat effectiveness.

I love that last paragraph. "No empirical evidence?" Well, other than the study, anyway.

This is the same flatearther mentality that brings you creationism and climate change denial -- dismiss any evidence that doesn't back up your prejudice, then claim the other side isn't being scientific enough.