Political Issues

A New Defense Policy

Accountability in Defense Spending

Peter speaks from the heart . .. Being a “Hawk” on defense is not just about spending money on equipment that is unsuitable for the challenges of today, It is being very strong in advocating better programs that improve the quality of life of our troops both before and after war. We certainly can do a better job in honoring our service members when they are alive and not only when they have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

We must stop financing the armed forces of yesterday. We have a mission table of organization and

equipment(MTOE) for our armed forces today which is designed to fight the large scale tank-on-tank battles of the cold war era. This must be quickly abandoned to reflect the new threat in our midst which are small terrorist cells. B2 and B1 bombers although formidable weapons of war, do not do well against Al Queida forces that are largely hiding in civilian areas and have perfected the ability to mingle with the general populace in West Pakistan and the mountains of Afghanistan. We can use more high tech drones remote controlled in the U.S. far from the battle ground to take out terrorist cells in different parts of the world with minimum collateral damage to civilians. And yes, we need to beef up our intelligence gathering capabilities and at the same time continue to develop the future combat systems program. We need to accelerate researching the development of robots and other high tech witty inventions to fight the wars of the 21 st Century. This will reduce the loss of lives to our military service members.

Some republicans are known for their aversion to putting more money towards so called failed social programs and instead tend to call first for major reform. They do this to demonstrate their conservative credentials yet, when it comes to the military they make exceptions to the deliberate and blatantly wasteful use of resources in the design and development of new weapons that were not well thought out and unsuitable for the conflict of tomorrow. Many times pentagon has spent several hundred millions on various weapon programs only to abandon it. A true conservative abhors wasteful spending wherever it is period. No exceptions! It was Eisenhower, a republican and the only U.S. President that fought in two world wars (1 st and 2 nd World War) that warned America about the excesses of the military industrial complex.

Lessons from Iraq

A good tree produces good fruit and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can never produce bad fruit and the reverse is also true. By your fruits you shall be known. Thus, is it fair to say that Iraqi war was an ill-conceived mission with no clear post-war strategy for implementation? More than $1.5 trillion has been spent on this war and not $50 billion as was originally touted by the White House prior to going to war. Yet our brave men and women completed the mission to the letter. The armed forces of this great nation that was deployed in Iraq , over the objections of many well meaning military leaders, continue to perform brilliantly under difficult conditions. They are the true heroes of this mission.

Pentagon must abandon their long held suspicions and ideological battles with the State Department and come to the full realization that the State Department has the experience in nation building after the military objectives have been accomplished. General David Petraeus has made it crystal clear in his conversations, congressional testimonies and news interviews, that it is critical in any future military conflict that there must be a simultaneous coordinated effort to bring some normality to civilian life as quickly as possible after a successful invasion or military accomplishment. Drumstick arrogance and outright deliberate ignorance of advise from Collin Powell contributed in no small way to many of the embarrassing challenges that confronted the worlds finest military. A classic case of guided missiles with misguided civilian leadership.

Without a doubt, the greatest contribution we can make towards a more modern U.S military is a direct investment in the quality of life of U.S. Service members. They are the ones on the front line and while it is great to provide a good life insurance for their family should they lose their lives, we can go a long way in making their life better while they are alive. No U.S. military member should have to go through sweat and toil to convince the V.A to address their ailments brought about by fighting with spirited and conspicuous bravery . The high divorce rate of returning members of the military from Iraq and Afghanistan is evident of a missing component in the war preparedness and post war education of our military. I believe we can do better.

Independent and documented stories in the media of our military service members struggling to get the V.A to cover psychological problems has my stomach turning. It does indeed leave much to be desired. It is ironic that the American people who were opposed to the war in Iraq in the first place have become the greatest champions and advocates for better quality of life for our service members especially the ones returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Where are the Hawks?

I want to express my sincere gratitude to the republicans and democrats on the Hill in Washington who fought the pentagon when they wanted to withdraw the bonuses to U.S service members who were injured and unable to fulfill their side of the bonus contract for extended call of duty due to their injuries. I would like to salute former Presidential Candidate, Bill Richardson, a democrat I might add, who was the first governor and political leader in the country, to pass legislation in New Mexico, long before congress acted in 2006 that would give $200, 000 to the family of any military member from New Mexico who loses their life in the war on terrorism. This courageous act speaks volumes about the remnants in this day and age that have been set apart to fight for righteousness and true justice. I mix my fate with theirs, that I will be a powerful advocate for proper training and better quality of life for our service members.

Top