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 : Clinton's Scandals: Is this corruption the worst ever? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (5914)	9/15/1998 8:56:00 PM
From: Michael Sphar	Respond to of 13994

You noticed that wide-strattle position too ? I thought it was quite becoming, err even a bit licentious.

To: greenspirit who wrote (5914)	9/15/1998 9:15:00 PM
From: Michael Sphar	Respond to of 13994

Here's another, makes ya want to stick him in a basic training unit for a few days... Clinton Vows To Keep Forces Ready By ROBERT BURNS Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- The administration and Congress must not ''relax our vigilance'' to keep American forces in top fighting form even as the accumulated effect of military budget cuts takes its toll, President Clinton told the military chiefs Tuesday. ''Readiness must be our No. 1 priority,'' Clinton said in brief remarks to the senior generals and admirals who head the military services and the major regional commanders. The president said he was satisfied that the units that would be called on first to respond to a military crisis, such as a reinforcement of U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf, are fully ready. Backup units, however, are showing signs of stress and strain. ''Our forward-deployed and first-to-fight units are highly ready, and our overall force is fully capable of carrying out our national military strategy,'' Clinton said in his remarks at Fort McNair, along the Potomac River. ''But I'm determined that we don't relax our vigilance to keep our forces ready to protect our security today and well into the 21st century.'' The military chiefs told Clinton there are early signs of excessive strain on the troops, but insisted the problem is ''not a replay of the 'hollow force' crisis of the 1970s,'' said one senior Clinton aide who attended the closed meeting. The aide, who was referring to military breakdowns at the end of the Vietnam War, asked not to be identified. Clinton urged Congress to approve his request that the projected $1.9 billion cost of U.S. military operations in Bosnia next year be covered by a supplemental funding bill rather than making the Defense Department absorb it in its regular budget. ''I want to call on Congress to support our ongoing engagement for peace in Bosnia in a way that does not force us to take money away from readiness and training,'' he said. ''We will continue to monitor readiness, to deal quickly and effectively with any problems that do arise.'' Many military leaders are growing concerned about battlefield readiness. Reports of pilot and spare parts shortages, maintenance backlogs, recruiting deficits and morale problems have been rife in recent months, particularly as deployments for the 1.4-million member force have lengthened in such places as Bosnia and the Persian Gulf. In August, the outgoing commander of Army forces in the United States, Gen. David Bramlett, wrote the service's top officer, Gen. Dennis Reimer, warning that under current budgets ''we can no longer train and sustain the force, stop infrastructure degradation, and provide our soldiers (quality of life) programs critical to the long-term readiness of the force.'' In his speech Tuesday, Clinton said it was important to strike a balance between paying what it takes to keep forces ready for battle and making longer-term investments in ''cutting edge technology ... to dominate the battlefields of the future.'' In a speech Monday to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Defense Secretary William Cohen said ''we are facing some strains'' in the forces that are earmarked as follow-on troops to support the front lines in an extended conflict abroad. Cohen said the Navy and Air Force have recruiting shortfalls and problems retaining more senior people, given ''attractive job offers'' in a booming economy. The Army, he said, ''has had to take money out of base operations and infrastructure accounts to pay for readiness.'' The Senate Armed Services Committee plans to hold hearings on military readiness within the next several weeks.