US Marine Corps

Time For Mitch McConnell And Lindsey Graham To Be Retired By Voters!

Two leading Republicans stand out above all who need to be retired by the voters in their states.

One is Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is being opposed by Amy McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot, and first woman to fly a combat mission for the Marine Corps. In 20 years in the Marine Corps, McGrath flew 89 combat missions against Al Qaeda and the Taliban. She graduated from the US Naval Academy, and has taught as an instructor there. She reached the level of Lieutenant Colonel in the military, and won many combat medals in the Iraq War and Afghanistan War. She is defined as a moderate centrist Democrat.

The other Senator who needs to be retired is Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is opposed by African American politician Jaime Harrison, who was the Chair of the state Democratic Party from 2013-2017, and is an Associate Chair of the Democratic National Committee. He graduated from Yale University and received his law degree from Georgetown University. He worked as a lobbyist and also for House Majority Whip James Clyburn.

Public opinion polls indicate a very close race in South Carolina, but in Kentucky, McConnell seems far ahead.

However, with the tumult over the Supreme Court vacancy, one can hope that at least one, if not both, of these despicable Republican leaders, could be ousted from their Senate seats, as this has happened before to others.

It seems clear that Democrats, independents, and those Republicans and conservatives who have condemned office holding Republicans for bowing to Donald Trump, just might be enough to affect change!

Defense Cuts Coming: Unavoidable, And Reasonable Long Term

The Pentagon, Secretary of State Leon Panetta, and President Barack Obama have announced plans for the future of our military, which are unavoidable and reasonable long term.

The philosophy behind the defense plans is that present costs for military spending, and trying to have the capability for involvement in two major wars at the same time, is unsustainable in the present economic climate.

Instead, involvement in one major war, with ability to send troops to a second theater of war, with eventual commitment of some troops from the first theater of war over time, is the best that America can do.

Also, the goal is to face the reality that future military personnel cannot have the same expenditures on families, health care costs, salaries, and pensions, as those costs now are beginning to become a financial burden on the American treasury.

Also, the major focus will be on the area of Asia and the Pacific, rather than the Middle East, where so much effort has been concentrated . The thought is that China, North Korea, and Pakistan are the major challenges for the long term future, and should be given the focus of our attention, without forgetting about Iran.

The one way not mentioned to change this reality is to start heavier taxation, particularly of the wealthy, as cutting of entitlements, such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is not acceptable in any major fashion. We will have tp pay as we go if we want everything to be what everyone wants, but right now, that is not possible, so we need to concentrate on where it is felt the major challenges are in the future.

We must also face a more restrained use of military force in general, and more modest foreign policy goals, and deal with the internal problems this nation faces.

Conventional forces will be de-emphasized in favor of counter terrorist actions and “irregular” warfare, and greater investment in long range stealth bombers and anti missile systems.

Fighting regional wars, as in Iraq and Afghanistan, will be no longer a goal of the military, causing long periods of commitment and wearing down the budget costs.

The goal is to cut defense spending by $480 billion over the next decade, but if Congress fights over it, automatic cuts could rise to $1 trillion!

Special Forces troops, elite counter terrorist troops, and armed drones are the future of the military, with a decline in conventional ground forces.

The Army and Marine Corps would decline in numbers, and fewer troops would be stationed in Europe, in order to allow greater deployment into the Asia-Pacific theater.

This plan for the future will lead to a fight in Congress, but what else is new?