During a mid-week joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump complained that the leaks were an attempt to “cover up for a terrible loss that the Democrats had”, and that “It’s a criminal act.” Trump has called reports about now-resigned National Security Advisor Flynn’s conversations with Russian officials the work of “fake media”,…
Tag: military
Why the Push for Syrian Intervention Is About More Than Just Assad
This is the dilemma facing Obama today. If the United States cannot extricate himself from the geopolitical imperatives posed by Iran’s continuing threat to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the safety of Persian Gulf oil supplies, it cannot extricate itself from the turmoil in Syria. Because a failure to confront Assad’s excesses could be viewed as…
Chinese hackers access major weapons systems: Washington Post
Chinese hackers have gained access to designs of more than two dozen major U.S. weapons systems, a U.S. report said on Monday, as Australian media said Chinese hackers had stolen the blueprints for Australia’s new spy headquarters. Citing a report prepared for the Defense Department by the Defense Science Board, the Washington Post said the…
Navy SEAL lost health insurance after killing Osama bin Laden
“I left SEALs on Friday,” he said the next time I saw him. It was a little more than thirty-six months before the official retirement requirement of twenty years of service. “My health care for me and my family stopped at midnight Friday night. I asked if there was some transition from my Tricare…
Romney Falsely Accuses Obama Campaign Of Trying To Restrict Military Voting Rights
Obama’s campaign is fighting back, calling Romney’s statement a “blatant attempt to mislead” voters. “This lawsuit seeks to treat all Ohio citizens equally under the law,” Obama for America attorney Bob Bauer said in a statement. “We want to restore the right of all to vote before Election Day.” Under the Obama administration, the Justice…
Our Broken Political System
Elected politicians would, at least theoretically, be expected to either represent such views or at least respond to them. But you can forget about that. On occasion, democratic pressure can build on representatives to either change a position or lose their jobs, making life sufficiently uncomfortable for them. But this is rarer than a red…
Military Shift Campaign Donations From Ron Paul To Obama In March
The Army Times reported in February that anti-war GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul (R-TX) was at that time, “by far,” getting the most in campaign contributions from members of the United States military. According to a review of Federal Election Commission data, Paul received nearly $250,000 in donations from servicemembers, President Obama, $130,000 and GOP…
White House To GOP: Only One Way Around Defense Cuts — And You’re Not Gonna Like It
In light of Congressional Republicans’ abandonment of a key part of the debt limit agreement, two senior administration officials briefing reporters at the White House Monday said automatic, across the board cuts to defense programs will happen as scheduled unless Republicans relent on their refusal to raise revenues. The officials conducted the briefing under the…
US Pays 18 Percent of Israel’s Military Budget
Leave it to the Washington Post’s award-winning national security reporter, Walter Pincus, to put things in perspective. In a new column, Pincus points out a remarkable inequity: While the US faces a fiscal crisis and debates the need for defense cuts, it’s footing the bill for one-fifth of Israel’s military budget—even as that country…
The ‘Violent Muslim’ Hysteria Goes Much Deeper Than You’d Believe
I kinda yawed a little when I read Spencer Ackerman’s scoop on the FBI’s bigoted, brain-dead Islam training. You think this is bad? As a soldier and former first responder, I’ve been sitting through this dreck for the better part of a decade. It’s just part of the noise in the system that…
GOP Makes Last Ditch Effort To Postpone Repeal Of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell
In a last ditch effort to prolong Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-CA) and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), who chairs the Military Personnel subcommittee, have written a letter to Secretary of Defense Leon Pannetta asking the Pentagon to postpone the scheduled repeal of the ban against open…