Trust Us

We have to save money because there is too much waste in the Pentagon.

So are we cutting the National Missile Defense Program, which has still failed to defend anything? Of course not.

We should move the Defense Language Institute and hope that we can convince its faculty of civilian native speakers to relocate from Monterey Bay to the Midwest.

Fortunately the BRAC [Base Realignment and Closure] panel shot that one down, saving my alma mater [Russian Intermediate and Advanced Programs]. When we need linguists more than ever, they wanted to disrupt the program that provides them.

They have managed to get Walter Reed Army Medical Center closed at a time when the military medical system is overwhelmed with casualties. Rumsfeld says he is going to build a new modern facility, but then he also said he was going to provide body armor and up-armor vehicles, so there won’t be a new facility. They have under-funded the Veterans Administration by billions, so you know they just don’t care.

It is pathetic that a veterans’ organization, the American Legion, would think that these people deserve support. Veterans should support those who support them.

It doesn’t look like they expect another aerial attack, because their plan strips the coasts of any ability to respond. When they route airliners to Maine, the closest fighter aircraft will be in New Jersey. If they are the new Raptors, they will get there with aerial refueling, but it will be tricky for them to fly at the speed and altitude of airliners.

These people are looking at the situation of the military during the administration of George H.W. Bush and transforming the military to fit that period. They just don’t understand the current requirements, or the weaknesses made obvious by the Iraq War.

When you hear about these cost savings, keep in mind that the fuel cost, fuel only, for Air Force One is running at $8K/hour. Since the Shrubbery flies with a second aircraft containing his motorcade, it’s really $16K/hour every time he takes a trip.