Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jlallen who wrote (33006)	8/29/2000 12:07:58 PM
From: kvkkc1	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769667

You forgot one important factor. The troops don't trust the uniformed leaders anymore because they all appear to have become flunkies for Clinton and Cohen, both incompetent in their own right. Troops aren't as ready as they were 10 years ago. It amuses me when folks with no real idea of what is happening in the military surmise how good it is. Many train on simulators, and don't even know what muddy boots are. Our military accomplished nothing in Somalia, yet was made to look foolish by a group of savages who killed American soldiers while our incompetent Secretary Aspin took the blame. In Haiti, we wasted our time reinstating a dictator who has done nothing for the country. In Bosnia and Kosovo, our troops are expected to perform missions they haven't and shouldn't be trained for. The key point is that none of these missions had anything to do with our national security interests. Until somebody in the right place tells the truth, the military will never improve.knc

To: jlallen who wrote (33006)	8/29/2000 12:20:53 PM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 769667

Morale is low, and the re-up rate has been poor. They have been losing skilled technicians at much too fast a pace, especially. The disaffection has been so acute that the brass had to demand a respectful demeanor when the CIC was anywhere around (this should go without saying). Pay has lagged. One of the reasons I get angry with people who make a great deal out of our military budget is that much of it is the price we pay for a volunteer force. Everyone else saves money through conscription. But that also means that we have to keep a reasonable pace with the private sector. I get angry at people who make a point of blaming the R&D budget. It is because of technological advances that we can function with the current manpower, by increasing "productivity", and there is room for improvement. But the main thing is that the United States is the stabilizing factor in the world today, taking over the old role of the British Empire in keeping sea lanes open and organizing an alliance system that promotes peace. We have military commitments that no other country has, and it is too soon to simply walk away from them, for example, in NATO.........