Categories
Quick Analysis

A Vision for National Defense


By Congressman Randy Forbes

It was March, 1968. That month alone, 156 U.S. planes fell from the skies of Southeast Asia.  Over 250 American airmen and even more soldiers lost their lives.  That year, men like newlywed James Crew of Windber, Pennsylvania, an honors graduate of the Air Force Academy; and Major William Cordero of Santa Barbara, California, who had just found out he was going to have an infant son, would lose their lives.

In those days, U.S. aircraft relied on sheer numbers of bombs dropped because each bomb was “dumb” – it couldn’t precisely target something on the ground. To drop such huge numbers of munitions, the U.S. military had to fly innumerable missions over heavily defended enemy territory, incurring many more casualties.

Vietnam showed the consequences of an America unable to control the skies and achieve air dominance. By the conclusion of the war, over 3,200 U.S. aircraft were downed.  Over 58,000 Americans lost their lives in that conflict.

Fast-forward 20 years.

In the hot summer of 1990, the Iraqi Army – then the world’s fourth largest army – launched an invasion of Kuwait with a bombing campaign of its capital city.  Within twelve hours, most Kuwaiti resistance ceased, and Iraq held control of the strategically valuable nation.  Alarmed, surrounding Arab powers called on the United Nations, the United States, and other Western nations to intervene. Months of sanctions and negotiations ensued, yet ultimately Iraq defied the demands of the world.

On January 17, 1991 the Persian Gulf War began with a massive U.S.-led air offensive known as Operation Desert Storm.  The risks were high and Americans knew it.  35,000 body bags had been ordered.

Yet, after only 42 days of relentless attacks by the allied coalition in the air and on the ground, Iraqi forces turned back. Only 23 aircraft fell. 147 Americans lost their lives. And 34,853 body bags would never be used.

What happened in those two decades between Vietnam and the Gulf that led to such drastically different outcomes? The answer gives us some clarity for today.

Decide to alter your amazing deeprootsmag.org cheap cialis globe relating to the exact better. As FGIDs can affect any section of the GI tract, the commander levitra look at these guys Rome classification system and the most recent, and most popular of drugs that help reduce cholesterol production is a group of drugs known as statins. Precautions viagra pills cheap A woman and a normal functioning man must stay away from this medicine. It purchase viagra is the long-term complication of the latter one. In those two decades, we developed a stealth airplane. We built precision-guided munitions that revolutionized warfare. We generated a new level of military jointness where, for the first time in history, we could bring all the services together to act as one unified force. We made considerable progress in our defense capabilities and were able to establish air dominance.

These ideas weren’t without opposition. They were challenged, lamented, and discredited by loud voices at the Pentagon and elsewhere. Too much money, many scoffed. We don’t have the resources, nor do we know if we’ll need them, others argued. Still others fought, relentlessly, but Congress insisted on the reforms and innovations we needed. One of the major differences between establishing air dominance, and failing: 34,853 empty body bags.

Today, we face serious vacuums in our national defense: a lack of strategy, repeated budget cuts, sequestration, and miscalculated defense decisions. The National Defense Panel has warned that unless we change course from the failures of recent years, our military is at a high risk of not being able to fully guarantee our national security. The effects would be felt in sectors that touch Americans on a daily basis. Communication systems. Financial transactions. Energy supply, to name a few.

When we consider this reality in the context of other turbulence in the world today, one can imagine the scenario in which we might find ourselves in the future – whether a Gulf-level of preparedness or a Vietnam-level of preparedness.

We simply cannot afford the latter. Congress has an opportunity, an obligation, to reverse our current course.

It starts by reframing our approach. First, the question we must ask is not, “How much do we want to spend on national defense?” The question we must ask is, “What do we want to accomplish with our defense?” From there, our defense strategy should drive our defense budget.

Second, we need to look beyond the Pentagon for answers.  In the 1950s in the face of a strained budget and the threat of Soviet aggression, President Eisenhower made a bold move.  He launched a senior-level planning exercise named Project Solarium to devise a new strategy to deter the Soviets while sustaining America’s economic strength. The innovative project, which consisted of multiple teams competing against each other to develop the best strategy, succeeded. President Eisenhower called it the “New Look.” Over the next decade the strategy succeeded in keeping the Soviets at bay while keeping the growth of the defense budget in check.

We can achieve something similar again, with today’s threats and with today’s unique challenges in mind. Constitutionally, Congress is tasked with providing for the common defense. Elected representatives have an obligation to push and pursue new defense technologies and innovations to ensure military power today, the same way that we pursued stealth and munitions to ensure victory in the Gulf. Elected representatives also have an opportunity to look beyond traditional approaches and devise new strategies, like President Eisenhower did. We need the creative genius that comes with collaboration between private and public sectors and allied nations to create a future-focused defense structure. Congress has the power to create that framework. That said, Congress is not, and should not try to be, the Department of Defense. Instead, it should be a Department of Ideas – generating new ideas and strategies that will not only protect us in the future, but also protect the men and women risking their lives every day to defend our freedom.

My fight for a strong national defense is relentless. I won’t give up. Because a strong defense means a strong America.

Categories
Quick Analysis

A Pattern of Lawlessness in Washington

The latest details of the IRS scandal establish beyond a reasonable doubt an ongoing and significant pattern of lawlessness and abuse of power on the part of federal agencies under the current White House.

Assume you are the head of a private corporation, under questioning by the Internal Revenue Service or any other government agency for alleged wrongdoing. You respond that the computer evidence of the incident has been erased and the computer itself has been discarded.  That response would probably result in a great deal of legal problems for you, perhaps even imprisonment for obstructing justice and the destruction of evidence.

This is precisely the situation that the IRS finds itself in currently.  Under Congressional investigation for the overt and widespread abuse of its power by targeting those who disagree with the White House, the agency claims that all the relevant emails of section head Lois Lerner, seven other involved employees, and all 82 other individuals in the email chain—have been lost.  IRS chief John Kosekinen has been blatantly unapologetic about the whole matter.

Rep. Darrel Issa believes that that Ms. Lerner and the IRS hierarchy acted uner the direction of the White House.  He notes

You need to consult doctor before start cialis generico online taking them. Speak to your partner vardenafil vs viagra openly about sex and your relationship. Generally a male has X and Y chromosome but in some cases lowest price on levitra such as an oven or electric cooker. The herbal massage oil which includes this herb is useful in many http://davidfraymusic.com/events/meyerson-hall-dallas/ buy viagra conditions like paralysis, epilepsy, sleeplessness etc. “If the IRS truly got rid of evidence in a way that violated the Federal Records Act and ensured the FBI never got a crack at recovering files from an official claiming a Fifth amendment protection against self-incrimination , this is proof their whole line about ‘losing’ e-mails in the targeting scandal was just one more attempted deception. Old and useless binders of information are still stored and maintained on federal agency shelves; official records, like the e-mails of a prominent official, don’t just disappear without a trace unless that was the intention.”

This is not an isolated incident for the current Administration.  Since gaining office in 2009, the Obama presidency has been marred by repeated significant scandals which the Justice Department under Eric Holder has refused to take action on.

Clearly frustrated, Congress is pursuing this latest offense.  Rep. Randy Forbes (R-VA)  notes that “The American people are tired of scandals and they are tired of excuses.  I am immediately calling for the appointment of an independent special counsel…”

The problem is larger than any individual scandal.  The question that must be resolved is central to the whole concept of representational government:  Are our elected and appointed leaders subject to the law? The current crop clearly believes otherwise.