Nbadan
09-25-2011, 12:26 AM
cut defense spending....
The House Armed Services Committee chairman is warning that further reductions to projected defense spending could make a military career so unattractive that it would force the Pentagon to revive the draft.
Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., suggested that spending cuts beyond the $350 billion that President Barack Obama and Congress agreed to in the debt accord this past summer could force the military to slash the number of service members, now some 2.3 million, including National Guard and reserves.
A special bipartisan committee is trying to come up with $1.5 trillion in spending cuts from all government spending. If it fails, or if Congress rejects its proposal, automatic cuts of $1.2 trillion would kick in, with half coming from defense.
"We also need to understand what it's going to mean to keep an all-volunteer force. Do we want to reinstitute the draft? Some of the cuts we're talking about would take over 200,000 out" McKeon said Monday in an interview with Fox News.
Link (http://www.newser.com/article/d9pt15100/armed-services-chairman-suggests-deep-defense-cuts-could-mean-reinstatement-of-military-draft.html)
The present wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have NEVER ever approached 50% support in any poll of the American people (There were some polls, right after 9-11 to go after bin Laden with nearly 100% support, but even at that time no support for occupation of any area in Afghanistan, once bin Laden went missing, support to continue the war in Afghanistan dropped like a rock).
On the other hand, support for the Shiite's in Iraq among the people south and east of Baghdad has never dropped below 50%. The same with Sunni Population if Iraq West of Iraq (The heart of the Iraqi resistance). The Kurds in the Northwest have overwhelming support among their fellow Kurds. Right now, these three sides are waiting for the US to pull put so they can then fight a war to see who is stronger where and once that is determined to sign a peace treaty recognizing those lines. This has been the Norm in the Middle East since the Start of Civilization. These peace treaties can last for several hundred years, and end in an instance. Thus everyone is waiting for the US to pull out to see what happens at that point.
Now, Afghanistan, the situation is a bit different. The Taliban has massive support, but nowhere near 50% of the populations, through clearly more then 50% of the Pushtans of Eastern and South Eastern Afghanistan. On the other hand the other people of Afghanistan believe the best way to end the war is for the US and its allies to pull out so the Natives can do a quick fight and then negotiate a truce (The norm for Afghanistan even before the times of Alexander the Great). Thus you have overwhelming support in Afghanistan for the US to pull out, but the US has refused.
Given the above, the US has a choice, stay in both countries subject to the present level of fighting as the underlying native forces jockey for position for the time the US does pull out, or pull out. The US does NOT want to pull out without an agreement with the successor government, but such successor government is unwilling (For such an agreement would undermine any subsequent fight over where to draw the lines in Iraq) or unable (The only group in Afghanistan that has the unity and support to make such a deal is the Taliban, who we are fighting).
Given the above, the US will have to stay in both countries forever, or like in Vietnam, the US has to divert its resources elsewhere.
The House Armed Services Committee chairman is warning that further reductions to projected defense spending could make a military career so unattractive that it would force the Pentagon to revive the draft.
Rep. Howard "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., suggested that spending cuts beyond the $350 billion that President Barack Obama and Congress agreed to in the debt accord this past summer could force the military to slash the number of service members, now some 2.3 million, including National Guard and reserves.
A special bipartisan committee is trying to come up with $1.5 trillion in spending cuts from all government spending. If it fails, or if Congress rejects its proposal, automatic cuts of $1.2 trillion would kick in, with half coming from defense.
"We also need to understand what it's going to mean to keep an all-volunteer force. Do we want to reinstitute the draft? Some of the cuts we're talking about would take over 200,000 out" McKeon said Monday in an interview with Fox News.
Link (http://www.newser.com/article/d9pt15100/armed-services-chairman-suggests-deep-defense-cuts-could-mean-reinstatement-of-military-draft.html)
The present wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have NEVER ever approached 50% support in any poll of the American people (There were some polls, right after 9-11 to go after bin Laden with nearly 100% support, but even at that time no support for occupation of any area in Afghanistan, once bin Laden went missing, support to continue the war in Afghanistan dropped like a rock).
On the other hand, support for the Shiite's in Iraq among the people south and east of Baghdad has never dropped below 50%. The same with Sunni Population if Iraq West of Iraq (The heart of the Iraqi resistance). The Kurds in the Northwest have overwhelming support among their fellow Kurds. Right now, these three sides are waiting for the US to pull put so they can then fight a war to see who is stronger where and once that is determined to sign a peace treaty recognizing those lines. This has been the Norm in the Middle East since the Start of Civilization. These peace treaties can last for several hundred years, and end in an instance. Thus everyone is waiting for the US to pull out to see what happens at that point.
Now, Afghanistan, the situation is a bit different. The Taliban has massive support, but nowhere near 50% of the populations, through clearly more then 50% of the Pushtans of Eastern and South Eastern Afghanistan. On the other hand the other people of Afghanistan believe the best way to end the war is for the US and its allies to pull out so the Natives can do a quick fight and then negotiate a truce (The norm for Afghanistan even before the times of Alexander the Great). Thus you have overwhelming support in Afghanistan for the US to pull out, but the US has refused.
Given the above, the US has a choice, stay in both countries subject to the present level of fighting as the underlying native forces jockey for position for the time the US does pull out, or pull out. The US does NOT want to pull out without an agreement with the successor government, but such successor government is unwilling (For such an agreement would undermine any subsequent fight over where to draw the lines in Iraq) or unable (The only group in Afghanistan that has the unity and support to make such a deal is the Taliban, who we are fighting).
Given the above, the US will have to stay in both countries forever, or like in Vietnam, the US has to divert its resources elsewhere.