National Journal Blog - 14 February, 2012

Col. W. Patrick Lang Responds to Will Defense Hawks win the Defense Budget Battle??.

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Comments

[Matthew]

I distinquish between "defending the dollar" and "defending America." America already has quite a large enough military for the latter task. Our recklessness makes the former task politically impossible.

[William R. Cumming]

The big fight in 2012 will be the funding and protection of the nuclear priesthood and its "weapons"!

[Fred]

PL, " let "job creators" struggle along..." I can hear the howling all the way out here in Detroit - only because those same creative destructionists closed so many factories and fired so many Americans. They made far more profit 'job creating' in China.

Yours is the best advice I've heard in a long, long time.

[Charles I]

SEE

Pentagon Seeks $25 Billion for Strategic Nuclear Efforts Through 2017

http://www.nti.rsvp1.com/gsn/article/pentagon-seeks-25-billion-strategic-nuclear-efforts-through-2017/?mgh=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nti.org&mgf=1

and

Obama to Update Nuclear Complex Despite Fiscal Constraints, NNSA Chief Says

http://www.nti.rsvp1.com/gsn/article/obama-update-nuclear-complex-despite-fiscal-constraints-nnsa-chief-says/?mgh=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nti.org&mgf=1

[Charles Dekle]

Col,
I am an engineer and strangely enough an auditor as well. Having been part of the defense establishment for nearly all of my professional career (I was laid off briefly after we "won" the cold war) I must say that your observations and recommendations are dead on.

Fred,
For the last 20 or so years Wall Street has been investing in China. Most of our major Commercial Off-the-Shelf electronics supply chains now begin there. Generals want our networked soldiers to have the convenience of iPhones, Droids, and iPads on the battle field.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304563104576361480888426472.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories

Given where these devices originate, I find this very disturbing.

[Bobby Murray]

Thank you for an informative read as always, Col Lang.

[Jose]

Col. I agree with everything you said, but must respectfully correct you on one point. The Bush Tax Cuts expired, those tax cuts no longer exist. A new Congress passed them and FoolBama signed them into law. Technically, they are now the FoolBama tax cuts. Small point, but Dumbya is back in Texas and this turkey has a new fool.

Sir, are becoming the new Soviet Union: spending everything on Defense, Homeland Security, etc.; all on borrowed money; and stuck in winnable war in Afghanistan?