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Obama has followed fiscal, judicial, legislative and military policies that have weakened, constrained and threatened our nation

Obama Closes the Arsenal of Democracy



Communist China is building a naval aviation program around its new aircraft carrier and cranking out new submarines at the rate of two per year. Iran threatens to close the Strait of Hormuz, forbids American ships from returning to the Persian Gulf, and is building an ICBM base in Venezuela. Waves of bombings mark the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. North Korea and Iran are on the verge of fielding nuclear weapons and the missiles to deliver them. In this time of crisis, international tension and threats from every corner of the globe, President Obama naturally responds by cutting half a trillion dollars from the military budget of the United States.
The excuse Obama offered for this lunacy (and offered at the Pentagon, to add insult to inanity) is that wars in Afghanistan and Iraq are “winding down” and that there is no longer a need for the powerful military we’ve had since President Reagan rebuilt it. Obama, whose administration has spent more than all previous administrations combined, pointed to the need to save money, and fully intends to do that at the expense of our nation’s defenses. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said the new strategy would be to focus on Asia and the Middle East, then identified the high cost of providing health care for military personnel as a reason for the cutbacks in other areas of defense. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey characterized the traditional requirement that the United States maintain a force able to fight two major wars at the same time as outdated, and “a bit of an anchor, frankly.”

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These decisions and comments come from an administration that only recently had five conflicts cooking–Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen. Obama has shown a willingness to commit troops without congressional approval or even the slightest indication of American interests at stake. But now he evidently believes that he can “turn the page on a decade of war” and ignore the ever-spreading threats we face around the globe. Panetta also said that defense cuts “must be driven by strategy and...not be driven by numbers alone.” But it is clear that the size and capabilities of American armed forces will determine and limit the missions they can undertake. In none of the conflicts mentioned above was the United States engaged with a nuclear power. A few years ago, when our political leaders actually put the nation’s safety first, our military prepared to confront the major states who opposed us. We created strategies and plans and weapons to counter a Soviet invasion of Eastern Europe, a Communist Chinese takeover of Taiwan, or nuclear strikes from any of the growing number of rogue nations eager to join the nuclear club. Now, however, the Obama administration hopes to avoid the danger of fire by reducing the number of fire departments. Obama has been consistent in his three years as president. He has followed fiscal, judicial, legislative and military policies that have weakened, constrained and threatened our nation. So this recent decision should come as no surprise. It only remains to be seen how this country’s enemies will exploit yet another retreat from America’s greatness by this president.


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Lance Thompson -- Bio and Archives

Lance Thompson is a freelance journalist.


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