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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tekboy who wrote (2330)	10/3/2001 12:01:46 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 281500

Personally, I like Hack... He's a soldier's soldier, having come up from the trenches, been there, done that, and taken all the tours... He's also been a very astute critic of defense policy and the bureaucracy that has sapped our military capabilities. In some respects the US is a paper tiger militarily... Sure we have the technology, and all those great whiz-bang gadgets, but the quality of our leadership corp has become far too politicized at ALL levels. It used to be just with the General officer ranks that we saw politics in command... But I've seen the NCO ranks decimated by politics and political correctness to the point where mistakes are not permitted. I've seen some AWESOME NCO I would follow to hell and back be discharged for receiving a DUI (not convicted.. just receiving).. I saw kids fresh out of boot camp who didn't know their butts from a hole in the ground when it came to basic soldiering skills that I had drilled into me.. I heard from them about the stress cards they were receiving, so they could present it to their leaders when "the going got tough" and they needed a "break"... Well, the Afghanis don't do "stress cards"... and they have a killer instinct that would scare the bejeezus out of these young pups that Clinton created over the past 8 years. The only people I have faith in are our SpecOps people and our pilots, if only because the level of professionalism and dedication is inherent to their very existence. I might have a measure of faith in the 82nd and 101st... but other than that... I'm not confident. And one last point... We're all worried about security at the moment... But most people don't realize that CURRENTLY there are some 1 million security clearance background investigations that are backlogged, with some 100,000 of those at the TS/SBI level.. That means there are 100,000 people (minimum) who are restricted in the level of classified work they can technically perform because their clearances are not up to date (though I'm sure many interim clearances are being carried). That said... there are many things that Hack has said that I disagree with (his opposition to the F-22 and Osprey programs), but these are relatively minor political issues that honest people can differ on. But he's been awesome for providing a forum for rooting out corruption and mismanagement in DOD due to his encouraging regular troopies to "sound off". Hawk

To: tekboy who wrote (2330)	10/3/2001 5:02:44 AM
From: unclewest	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Hack's got impeccable credentials as a guy in the field, but from the times I've seen him he strikes as well out of his depth in discussing larger strategic or foreign policy questions... not necessarily saying what he says is wrong, just that I wouldn't let his medals lend his advice greater authority than it deserves on the merits....that piece, which I've seen before (it's been circulating), has some interesting and valid points, though... tb, do you realize that Hack did not write the letter you are critiquing? clearly you have a beef with the guy. i will say this about Hack...every soldier who ever served in his shadow respects every bone in his body and every word he utters and not because he has a few medals...hell we have tens of thousands of vets with a chest full of medals. Hack is respected because of his integrity, complete openness in reporting and his use of sources that have been there, done that and wear the t-shirt. you suggest we should not give his advice merits...Hack's method of digging for data enabled him to identify our RVN policy as hopelessly flawed in 1966. too bad the policy wonks didn't give his advice due back then. if they had, over 50,000 Americans would not have perished. i disagree with your assessment of Hack...i believe he possesses the precise credentials that we need. Hack has been there, makes the correct calls in tactical situations, identifies flawed strategy, and makes suggestions honed from years of world-wide experience. who would you have us listen too? policy wonks with a few years "experience" in cambridge coffee houses and bars, who have visited the WTC in the past 3 weeks. the instant experts who are flooding the bookstores with their sage advice. give me the guy with field experience...the guy who has a long track record of making perfect calls when they really count. uw