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A Financial Explanation for President Obama’s Foreign Policy

Is there a financial explanation for President Obama’s national security and foreign policy choices?

It is difficult to put a positive spin or find a logical explanation for the current Administrations’ actions and attitudes towards the growing threats facing the United States, and the diminished influence Washington has in global matters.  The list of failures and missteps, which have emboldened America’s enemies and alientated its allies,  is considerable:

The Obama/Clinton “Reset” with Russia produced completely unfavorable results.  Moscow is now considerably more aggressive than when the President first took office.  The Kremlin’s military spending has skyrocketed, and it has not been shy about using its new muscle.  Ukraine has been invaded, Russian forces have become active in the Middle East, Eastern Europe is increasingly threatened, the Arctic has been militarized, and the nation’s nuclear bombers and submarines have resumed cold war patrols near American coastlines, a task made easier by deals made with Cuba and Nicargua. Moscow now holds, for the first time, a lead in strategic nuclear weapons, as well as a ten to one lead in tactical atomic devices.

The failure to confront China either diplomatically or with a show of force when it invaded the Philippine Exclusive Economic Zone encouraged further aggressive actions by a Beijing regime convinced it would pay no penalty for unlawful expansionist moves. China has become a military superpower, the technological and numerical equivalent of U.S. forces. It already has more submarines than the Amrican navy, and will outnumer the U.S. fleet in four years.

Since Mr. Obama withdrew all U.S. troops from Iraq, Radical Islam has exponentially increased, with particular power being gained by ISIS.  At almost every step, the current Administration chose to not confront the problem, and, indeed, it did much to make it worse. The White House supported “Arab Spring” movements which empowered extremist elements throughout the region, and did not respond even when Americans were directly attacked in  Benghazi. It has abandoned a long-held policy of not negotiating with terrorists and opened talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The White House concluded an agreement that restored vast wealth to Iran in return for a shaky pledge to halt Tehran’s nuclear program, in a deal that a key Administration official now admits to misleading the U.S. public about. The President has deflected public anger and concern over terrorist attacks on U.S. soil by focusing his blame on gun rights, imagined bias towards Islam, and, incredibly, workplace violence.

If one assumes that Mr. Obama is not content with the dismal results of his policies, then a reason must be found why, despite substantial and repeated failures, he continues to pursue the same course of reducing American strength and influence, with a particular hesitancy to actively support American allies such as the Philippines, Israel, moderate Arab regimes, and, at least before Moscow’s Ukraine invasion, Europe.

The answer might have much to do with the President expensive and expansive domestic agenda.

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A Washington Times study found that the latest government reports estimate more than 23 percent of Americans lived in a family that received some form of welfare help under Obama, up 17.1 from the last year of the Bush presidency. The number of those on Social Security disability ballooned from 7.4 million at the start of the Obama presidency to 10.9 million in 2015.

Obamacare proved to be devastatingly expensive.“About 87 percent of people who selected health insurance plans through HealthCare.gov for coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2015, were determined eligible for financial assistance to lower their monthly premiums,”  notes the Department of Health and Human Services.

This demands massive infusions of cash. Major Increases in taxes are unpopular and politically difficult, and the debt has already jumped beyond reasonable limits (A CNSNews study  found that “the portion of the federal government’s debt that is held by the public…has more than doubled during President Barack Obama’s time in office” up by 113.8 percent.) All of this debt occurred despite the reality that Washington has taken in record amounts of revenue.U.S. Government Revenue  estimates that federal “direct revenue” collected last year amounted to $3.3 trillion.

All of this means that the dollars for the ambitious domestic agenda must come from someplace else.  That someplace else may be the defense budget.

According to a 2015 politifact analysis,”military spending decreased every year for [the past]four straight years by a cumulative 15%…In 2010, national security spending made up 20.1% of the federal budget, but in 2015 it was roughly 15.9%. Over that same period, spending declined from 4.6% of gross domestic product to 3.3%.”

Obama’s reduction in spending on a military that is now sharply diminished (the army is the smallest it has been since before World War 2, the Navy has less ships than at any time since before World War 1, and the Air Force is the smallest in history, with some aircraft so old they were flown by the grandparents of today’s pilots) means that conflicts must be avoided—even when vital interests are at stake, and supremacy in weaponry must be conceded to potential foes, no matter the potential danger.

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Coup in Turkey: A Revolt against Islamic Authoritarianism?

The wrong side may have won in the attempted coup against the increasingly authoritarian rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogn in Turkey.  Erdogan’s concept of political freedom is best symbolized by his saying that “Democracy is a bus ride…once I get to my stop, I’m getting off.”

Over 160 people had been killed during the fighting, with many additional injuries. Prime Minister Benali Yildirim announced the arrest of  2,839 people.

Since his controversial re-election in 2014, (he first came to power in 2002) Erdogan has run roughshod over the rights of Turkish citizens and pursued a course of turning the formerly secular Turkish nation into one that more closely resembled a strong-man government with theocratic overtones. Despite 10% unemployment, he recently built a palatial presidential estate.

His background is heavily Islamist, joining the religious movement as a college student. In 1999, he spent four months in jail for “religious incitement.” The BBC  notes that he has also publicly read a poem stating: “The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers.”

Erdogan’s 2014 re-election itself raised a number of issues. There were significant indications that the results were predetermined. Examples of foul play included a lack of coverage of opposition candidates by the state media, ballots pre-printed with Erdogan’s name, suppression of opposition campaigns, and internet bias issues.

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He has brutally moved to put down protests, including a large event in Istanbul three years ago. The BBC reported that Erdogan vowed to “wipe out” independent sources that were critical of his actions, including Twitter.

Does Erdogan seek to turn his nation into another radical Islamic state? The Middle East journal Al-Monitor provides this analysis: “The more likely future for Turkey is not a Sharia-imposing Islamic state, but a more conservative state re-designed in the image of the AKP. [Erdogan’s political party.] Keep in mind that the latter-day ideology of the party is not simply ‘Islamism’ after all, but ‘Erdoganism,’ in which Islamism is indeed an important theme, but not the only theme. This would not put Turkey on the path to becoming another Iran or Saudi Arabia, as Turkey’s secularists fear, but it could lead in the direction of another Russia, where a similar ideology, ‘Putinism,’ rules. As the journalist Fareed Zakaria astutely observed, Putinism consists of five fundamentals: religion, nationalism, social conservatism, state capitalism and government media control. ‘Returning to the values of religion’ — in particular Orthodox Christianity — is a powerful theme in Putin’s agenda, with a global vision of ‘protecting persecuted Christians all over the world.’ Replace ‘Christian’ with ‘Muslim,’ and one has Turkey’s ruling ideology.”

A National Post review notes: “Erdogan is turning his country into an Islam-tilted dictatorship. Eight years ago, 300,000 secularist Turks waved banners showing Atatürk’s picture [Ataturk was the first president of Turkey, who established a secular state that made his nation perhaps the most successful government in the Moslem world] as they demonstrated against Erdogan’s increasingly Islamic agenda. Nevertheless, Erdogan has remained popular.”

Although Turkey is a member of NATO, under Erdogan the nations’ formerly pro-western foreign policy has changed. He has been a harsh critic of Israel, and has, noted Fox commentator Ralph Peters, engaged in actions which hampered American activities in the Middle East. Although officially in opposition to ISIS, much of the resources ostensibly devoted to anti-ISIS action are actually devoted to combatting Kurds, a significant ally of the west in the fight against ISIS.

The Turkish army has traditionally been the guardian of the nation’s secular constitution, and has been seen as check on Erdogan’s power.  Some analysts have speculated that the failed coup, which was curiously poorly planned and organized, may have actually been instituted by Erdogan himself as a means to justify the arrest of military leaders–and arrest them he has. Various news reports indicate that many thousands of anti-Erdogan Turkish citizens have been detained.

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The Myth of China’s Peaceful Rise

The hope that China would peacefully rise to great power status continues to be shattered.

Rather than becoming a nation that uses its enormous military and economic might to benefit both its own citizenry and the international community, Beijing is following a pattern of aggression.  To those mindful of history, its actions are highly reminiscent of Imperial Japan’s belligerent actions that led to World War II in the Pacific.

A five member panel at The Tribunal of the Permanent Court at The Hague, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas has ruled in favor of the Philippines in its dispute with China. China claims almost all of the South China Sea, and has deployed its military to enforce its will.

Beijing bases its claim on its internationally unrecognized “Nine Dash Line” demarcation.  The Tribunal concluded that there was no legal basis for China to claim historic rights to resources within the sea areas falling within the ‘Nine-dash line’.

The specific arbitration before the Hague concerned the role of historic rights and the source of maritime entitlements in the South China Sea, the status of certain maritime features and the maritime entitlements they are capable of generating, and the lawfulness of certain actions by China that were alleged by the Philippines to violate the Convention.

Having found that certain areas are within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, the Tribunal found that China had violated the Philippines’ sovereign rights in its exclusive economic zone by (a) interfering with Philippine fishing and petroleum exploration, (b) constructing artificial islands and (c) failing to prevent Chinese fishermen from fishing in the zone. …The Tribunal further held that Chinese law enforcement vessels had unlawfully created a serious risk of collision when they physically obstructed Philippine vessels.

The Tribunal also considered the effect on the marine environment of China’s recent large-scale land reclamation and construction of artificial islands at seven features in the Spratly Islands and found that China had caused severe harm to the coral reef environment and violated its obligation to preserve and protect fragile ecosystems and the habitat of depleted, threatened, or endangered species. The Tribunal also found that Chinese authorities were aware that Chinese fishermen have harvested endangered sea turtles, coral, and giant clams on a substantial scale in the South China Sea (using methods that inflict severe damage on the coral reef environment) and had not fulfilled their obligations to stop such activities.

As it had previously announced, China completely rejected the ruling. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, made the following remarks in response to today’s ruling on the South China Sea arbitration case:

“Today’s ruling is clear, unambiguous, and reinforces the international order.  The United States should act to give this ruling weight by continuing our free navigation of the seas with our allies and partners in the region, maintaining a robust and ready naval presence in the area, and demonstrating that we are a reliable ally to countries in the region.” 

 In testimony  before the House Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces and the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia last week, Abraham Denmark, deputy assistant secretary of defense for East Asia, noted:

“The South China Sea is an area of immense economic and strategic importance. For centuries, it has been a major crossroads of international trade and commerce that connected cultures and economies from East Africa and the Middle East, through South and Southeast Asia, to Japan and the Korean peninsula in Northeast Asia. For decades, it has been a critical operational area for the U.S. military and central to our strategy to strengthen a principled order that enables stability and prosperity across the region… Conflicting maritime claims have exacerbated long-simmering territorial disputes and threaten to disrupt the remarkable stability and economic gains the region has enjoyed for decades.

“China, in particular, has undertaken a series of initiatives that set it apart from all other claimants…“Examples of concerning Chinese behavior in the past few years include:

  •  Between December 2013 and October 2015, China reclaimed approximately 3,200 acres of land in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea—a development we detailed in our Annual Report to Congress on the Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2016. For context, over the same time period, other claimants reclaimed approximately 50 acres.
  • China has used low-intensity coercion to enhance its presence and control in disputed areas of the South China Sea. China continues to employ China Coast Guard and People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ships to implement its claims by maintaining a near-continuous presence in disputed areas in an attempt to demonstrate some form of continuous administration. These efforts have included issuing fishing regulations that 3 covered disputed areas, blocking access of non-Chinese registered fishing vessels to disputed areas, and issuing warnings to civilian and military aircraft to depart the area while they were operating in international airspace.
  • China has continued to build harbors, communications and surveillance systems, logistical facilities, and three military-grade airfields on many of the features it occupies. In the past year, China also has deployed radar systems, anti-ship cruise missiles, surface to-air missiles, and has rotated fighter jets through features it claims in the South China Sea.

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“Furthermore, the construction of hangars, anti-aircraft guns, and fuel and water underground storage facilities would support extended deployments of multiple aircraft and ships. And finally, in April, China’s most senior military officer led a delegation on a tour of China’s occupied features in the Spratly Islands to inspect the construction and visit the soldiers stationed on each feature. …Once completed and outfitted, these facilities will greatly improve China’s capabilities to enforce its maritime and territorial claims, and project power further from China’s shores.”

Beijing’s rapid and extraordinary naval development has given the nation a submarine fleet already larger than the U.S. Navy’s, and its fleet will be larger than America’s within four years.

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NATO Responds to Russian Threats

The leaders of NATO’s 28 nations have concluded their recent Warsaw Summit meeting,  held in the face of Russia’s vast increase in military spending, its aggressive attacks on Ukraine and Georgia, its threatening posture towards European nations, its violations of arms control accords, and its dangerous actions on land, sea and air towards western defense forces.

The Summit’s official communique noted:

“Russia’s aggressive actions, including provocative military activities in the periphery of NATO territory and its demonstrated willingness to attain political goals by the threat and use of force, are a source of regional instability, fundamentally challenge the Alliance, have damaged Euro-Atlantic security, and threaten our long-standing goal of a Europe whole, free, and at peace.  Our security is also deeply affected by the security situation in the Middle East and North Africa, which has deteriorated significantly across the whole region.  Terrorism, particularly as perpetrated by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)/Da’esh, has risen to an unprecedented level of intensity, reaches into all of Allied territory, and now represents an immediate and direct threat to our nations and the international community.  Instability in the Middle East and North Africa also contributes to the refugee and migrant crisis…

“For over two decades, NATO has striven to build a partnership with Russia, including through the mechanism of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC).  Russia’s recent activities and policies have reduced stability and security, increased unpredictability, and changed the security environment.  While NATO stands by its international commitments, Russia has breached the values, principles and commitments which underpin the NATO-Russia relationship, as outlined in the 1997 Basic Document of the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act, and 2002 Rome Declaration, broken the trust at the core of our cooperation, and challenged the fundamental principles of the global and Euro-Atlantic security architecture.  Decisions we have taken, including here at our Summit, are fully consistent with our international commitments, and therefore cannot be regarded by anyone as contradicting the NATO-Russia Founding Act.

“Russia’s destabilizing actions and policies include: the ongoing illegal and illegitimate annexation of Crimea, which we do not and will not recognize and which we call on Russia to reverse; the violation of sovereign borders by force; the deliberate destabilization of eastern Ukraine; large-scale snap exercises contrary to the spirit of the Vienna Document, and provocative military activities near NATO borders, including in the Baltic and Black Sea regions and the Eastern Mediterranean; its irresponsible and aggressive nuclear rhetoric, military concept and underlying posture; and its repeated violations of NATO Allied airspace.  In addition, Russia’s military intervention, significant military presence and support for the regime in Syria, and its use of its military presence in the Black Sea to project power into the Eastern Mediterranean have posed further risks and challenges for the security of Allies and others.”

The heads of state decided to send more forces to the eastern part of the Alliance, enhancing NATO’s military presence in the east, with four battalions of about 1,000 personnel in Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania (nations under substantial threat from Moscow) on a rotational basis – to be in place starting next year. Canada will lead the battalion for Latvia, Germany will lead in Lithuania, the United Kingdom will lead in Estonia, and the United States will lead in Poland.

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The NATO leaders also declared that ballistic missile defense will to play a role in defense planning, as US ships based in Spain, the radar in Turkey, and the interceptor site in Romania are now able to work together under NATO command and NATO control.

Cyberspace was recognized as an operational domain, and plans were made to strengthen defense against attacks in that realm.

An issue that has become a factor in the U.S. Presidential campaign was addressed. Alliance nations pledged to increase their defense spending, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg noted that 2015 was the first year in recent times that many NATO members increased defense spending. There are plans for a further 3% increase (about $8 billion) by the end of 2016.

Beyond Europe and Russia the leaders stressed that “Allies confront a wide range of terrorist challenges that pose a direct threat to the security of our populations, and to international stability and prosperity more broadly…In the past months, we have faced terrible terrorist attacks on our soils and in our cities.  In particular, ISIL/Da’esh poses a grave threat to the wider Middle East and North Africa region and to our own nations.  In response, all NATO Allies and many NATO partners are contributing to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.”

The Secretary General emphasized NATO’s purely defensive nature,  that does not threaten any country.  He stated that the alliance “continues to seek constructive dialogue with Russia…The Alliance does not seek confrontation and poses no threat to Russia.  But we cannot and will not compromise on the principles on which our Alliance and security in Europe and North America rest.  NATO will continue to be transparent, predictable and resolute.”

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Russian Nuclear Weapons Modernize while U.S. Arsenal Diminishes

The NATO summit just concluded has sounded the alarm about Russia’s dangerous actions in Europe. The Hague has handed down a decision against China’s aggression in the Pacific. Iran continues to seek nuclear weapons, and North Korea moves quickly ahead in expanding its nuclear arsenal.  Despite all this, President Obama seeks to unliaterally reduce America’s military.

Despite a record of total failure in arms control, which has seen the United States militarily weakened as Russia, China, Iran and North Korea have dramatically increased their armed forces, President Obama, the Washington Post reports,  is preparing to push even further his unilateral cuts to American strength. He is doing so in the face of clear, overwhelming evidence that his policies have been disatrous for American national security and world peace.

International news sources are filled with clear indications of massive arms increases on the part of aggressive nations.  RT, the Russian news source, reports massive drills for nuclear and conventional war being carried out.

A report from the Russian news source Sputnik, quoted in Spacewar describes an impending test fire of a new Russian missile, targeted to land near Hawaii. The new weapon, named Sarmat, is a heavy intercontinental ballistic missile which will replace the current SS-18 ICBM, providing increased range.

The move comes in stark contrast to the increasingly obsolescent U.S. nuclear deterrent, and to President Obama’s preferences for unilateral American reductions in nuclear weapons. Under the current White House, Moscow, for the first time, has a lead in strategic nuclear weaponry.  Russia also maintains a ten to one advantage in tactical atomic weapons.

Russia skipped a nuclear summit meeting earlier this year, as Putin appears determined to move ahead with increasing the size and capability of his nuclear weapons, even as the U.S. arsenal shrinks and remains mired in old technology. A Time Magazine study  noted:

“Over the course of Obama’s presidency, Russia has managed to negotiate deep cuts to the U.S. arsenal while substantially strengthening of its own. It has allegedly violated the treaty that limits the deployment of nuclear weapons in Europe and, in the last few years, it has brought disarmament talks with the U.S. to a complete standstill for the first time since the 1960s. In its rhetoric, Moscow has also returned to a habit of nuclear threats, while in its military exercises, it has begun to practice for a nuclear strike, according to the NATO military alliance…Moscow is building a new generation of long-range nuclear bombers, truck-mounted ballistic missiles and nuclear-armed submarines. In the past two years, Russian officials and state-run media have routinely boasted about the fruits these efforts, often under giddy headlines like this gem from the Sputnik news agency: “Rail Phantom: Russia developing invisible death trains with nukes.”

Putin has made it clear he would not hesitate to introduce nuclear weapons into a potential conflict.

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“the U.S. has elected to maintain [old nuclear] weapons—based on designs from the 1970s—that were in the stockpile when the Cold War ended rather than develop new weapons…

“The National Nuclear Laboratories are beset by talent and recruitment challenges of their own. Thomas D’Agostino, former Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), stated that in about five years, the United States will not have a single active engineer who had “a key hand in the design of a warhead that’s in the existing stockpile and who was responsible for that particular design when it was tested back in the early 1990s.” This is a significant problem because for the first time since the dawn of the nuclear age, the U.S. will have to rely on the scientific judgment of people who were not directly involved in nuclear tests of weapons that they had designed and developed and were certifying. It is unclear how much of the existing inactive stockpile will go through the life extension program. Hence, our ability to reconstitute nuclear forces will probably decline with the passage of time.

“The uncertainty regarding the funding and direction of the nuclear weapons complex is one of the factors that complicate the National Laboratories’ efforts to attract and maintain young talent. The shift of focus away from the nuclear mission after the end of the Cold War caused the National Laboratories to lose their sense of purpose and to feel compelled to reorient their mission focus and change their relationship with the government. The NNSA was supposed to address these problems, but it has largely failed in this task, partly because “the relationship with the NNSA and the National security labs appears to be broken.”

“In 1999, the Commission on Maintaining U.S. Nuclear Weapons Expertise concluded that 34 percent of the employees supplying critical skills to the weapons program were more than 50 years old. The number increased to 40 percent in 2009. This is more than the average in the U.S. high-technology industry. In 2012, a number of employees of the Los Alamos National Laboratory were laid off in anticipation of a $300 million shortfall. The lack of resources is undermining the morale of the workforce.”

President Obama appears to under the mistaken impression that his unilateral nuclear de-emphasis is sending a message of peace. Thomas Karako, a senior fellow on the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, quoted in Ibtimes.com, disagrees.

“Unilateral nuclear reductions would absolutely send the wrong message to Russia, China and other adversaries, by allowing them to think they could use and brandish nuclear weapons, It would also send the wrong message to our allies, Japan, South Korea, Poland, NATO, who all rely on the ultimate backstop of the United States as a support to their own defenses…”

Despite the utter failure of the Obama/Clinton unilateral cuts to U.S. nuclear weapons, Mr. Obama seems determine to continue his further unilateral reductions.

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Progressive Politicians Have Harmed Black America

As racial tensions escalate across America, it is time for an uncomfortable but urgently needed conversation about race relations.

Many blacks correctly point to the reality that poverty in their communities remains higher than the rest of the nation.  They note that young black males have higher rates of incarceration and altercations with police. Non-blacks point to a half-century of anti-poverty and affirmative action programs. Some blame police-black tensions on a higher proclivity to respond negatively to law enforcement on the part of those youth, and suggest an absence of fathers as benevolent authority figures leading to that attitude.

Both have a point.  Yes, there have been extensive anti-poverty programs, but those efforts have been a failure.  Poverty remains virtually unchanged in the half century since they were begun.  The fact is, those endeavors have been a great benefit to the politically connected who administer them or who had the opportunity to work in them, but they have done precious little for the intended recipients.  The rise of “poverty pimps” illustrates the problem.

After the elimination of officially sanctioned segregation laws and the death of the Jim Crow environment, it seemed that the path to full financial equality would finally begin.  The results, to say the least, have been disappointing.  In truth, Blacks have been denied the same chance to progress economically that other American groups once discriminated against have had (Irish, Italians, Asians, Jews, etc.) This denial was not the result of intentional discrimination, but rather the replacement of the formerly dynamic and flexible U.S. business environment with one laden with excessive taxes and regulations on the federal, state and local levels.  It is doubtful that, given these conditions, any prior downtrodden groups would have had a viable shot at moving up the socioeconomic ladder.

The failure of the American school system also plays a key role.  The philosophy of education was once heavily tilted towards preparing students for success in the workplace.  About the same time as the Civil Rights movement succeeded, however, educational philosophy re-oriented towards more esoteric goals—learning for learning sake.  The fact is, everyone can’t find employment as college professors.  The traditional trades that helped the Irish, Italians, Asians, Jews and others to move into the middle class (and for many, beyond) were de-emphasized.

It is fascinating to note that in the one area where the anti-free free enterprise and excessively academic movements didn’t take hold—the military—Blacks progressed in about the same way prior minority groups did.

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Progressive or leftist politicians have unintentionally caused harm to Black America through adherence to government programs and taxes as opposed to free enterprise, and the downplaying of traditional values. An acceptance of radical viewpoints and a proclivity to only favor Black candidates and elected officials who slavishly—the word is used intentionally—stick to a liberal perspective has reduced the political clout of Blacks.  Consider the vicious comments made by progressive and liberal politicians and pundits about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, or former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.  The rejection of these brilliant and accomplished individuals and the acceptance of hucksters such as Al Sharpton indicate an agenda more about politics than truly ending the history of discrimination against Blacks.  Consider the outright rejection of black candidates who ran in Republican primaries.

The white media shares blame with the politicians.  It, too, has glorified unsavory cultural leaders within the Black community, while rejecting those who have truly been a voice of reason.  It has failed to properly discuss the extreme harm done to minority communities committed by political criminals who rose to prominence as mayors in places like Washington, D.C. and Detroit.

It’s not just at the ballot box where this takes place.  In popular entertainment, the promotion of “gangsta” rap over more savory versions of that musical movement has created destructive role models.

A half century of failure and political self-interest is enough.  It’s time that traditional American economics and practices were given a chance.

 

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Pentagon Budget Crisis

Note: As this issue went to press, it was revealed that President Obama is planning furthet unilateral cuts to the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

Congress is putting the final touch on the 2017 National Defense Authorization Act. hose concerned about the deterioration of the American military in the face of dramatically growing threats are hoping to at least stop further damage from the 2011 Budget Control Act.

According to the American Enterprise Institute “The [2011] law, now shaping the fourth of the ten budgets it is supposed to cover, is on track to reduce overall defense spending by about 20 percent…roughly a total of $1.5 trillion.” Further damage was done in 2013, when, thanks to a standoff between the White House and Congress, the law’s ‘sequestration’ provision came into effect…Sequestration accelerated the downward spiral in military readiness in ways that are now manifesting themselves. At one point, only 10 percent of the Army’s 40-plus active brigades—a total that has now been reduced to just 30 brigades—were fully read…The Navy had to extend ship deployments at the same time it was reducing its maintenance to just 57 percent of what was needed. The Air Force grounded 31 flying squadrons. At the same time, the Obama Administration worked to lock in the reduction in military capacity…”

Following the fall of the USSR, America dramatically scaled down its military. Unfortunately, the drop in the threat level justifying that reduction was only short-lived.

Russia has rebuilt its military into a more modern and effective force than ever, with a commanding lead over the U.S. in nuclear weapons. The National Interest notes that “Russian military modernization and the challenge it poses to the nation and the military has been publicly acknowledged at the most senior levels of the Department of Defense.”

China has used its vast financial resources and extraordinary espionage and cyber capabilities to eliminate America’s technological lead, and build a conventional force that will soon overtake the U.S.  Its navy, in particular, will be larger than America’s in just four years. The International Business Times reports “China and North Korea are growing as military powers as the United States struggles to maintain its influence in the Asia-Pacific region amid defense spending limits…Researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, which conducted the study for the U.S. Department of Defense, said the U.S. faces a tough task to secure its interests in the region.’ Chinese and North Korean actions are routinely challenging the credibility of U.S. security commitments, and at the current rate of U.S. capability development, the balance of military power in the region is shifting against the United States,’ the study said. ‘Robust funding is needed to implement the rebalance. Mandatory ‘sequestration’ budget cuts imposed across the government in 2011 have limited U.S. defense spending…”

During the Cold War, the U.S. faced one major foe: the Soviet Union.  Washington, with its NATO partners, was clearly the dominant military power.  Now, however, Russia, China, and Iran are intimately allied, with the U.S. as its prime target.  North Korea adds an additional and substantial concern, with the growing strength and sophistication of its nuclear arsenal.

In contrast, the NATO nations have allowed their militaries to substantially deteriorate.  The balance of power has clearly and substantially shifted against U.S. interests.

According to Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee “Unprecedented threats, uncertainty, and technological change, combined with a high-operational tempo and declining resources, have sharply eroded the readiness of our military…Our men and women in uniform face a mounting readiness crisis that increases the danger to their lives and inhibits America’s ability to respond effectively to a series of diverse and serious threats.”

  In an address to the Heritage Foundation, Thornberry  discussed one aspect of the growing crisis, America’s dwindling air power: “What’s happened over the last few years is that budget cuts coupled with deployments, at a pace and a number that have not really declined very much, have caused a readiness crisis in all the services…The Air Force is short 4,000 maintainers and more than 700 pilots today…In 2015 the Navy had a backlog of 11 planes in depot, next year in 17 they are going to have a backlog of 278…Less than one-third of the Army is ready to meet the requirements of the Defense Strategic Guidance, it’s supposed to be no less than two-thirds…Marine Corps aviation requires on average 10 hours of flight time a month and they are getting about .”

 The crisis on the ground matches that in the air. The Army Times  notes that the Army has been dramatically reduced. “The Army’s latest headcount shows that nearly 2,600 soldiers departed active service in March without being replaced, an action that plunges manning to its lowest level since before World War II. During the past year the size of the active force has been reduced by 16,548 soldiers, the rough equivalent of three brigades.”

Central Command chief General Lloyd Austin, in an interview with Presstv.com, reported “We are getting dangerously small.” He pointed out that troop reductions will leave the Army with a cut of more than 20 percent since 2012.

Real Clear Defense sums up the challenge: “In short, our military today is not able to adequately provide for America’s national security needs. Unfortunately, rebuilding America’s military strength is not as simple as increasing the budget for a year or two. Rebuilding a unit, buying new equipment, or increasing a unit’s readiness can take years… defense budget cuts have led to a significant decrease in military capabilities and readiness, as well as investment in future research and development. As Congress develops the NDAA, six principles should guide its Members’ work:

  • Restore cuts to capacity, particularly U.S. ground forces.
  • Prioritize readiness for all the services
  • Shift initiatives from the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) account to the baseline defense budget.
  • Increase funding for updating nuclear weapons and missile defense systems.
  • Provide stability for modernization programs. Increase the national defense budget

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Campaign Regulation used for Partisan and Anti-Free Speech Goals

The trend towards restricting free speech through campaign finance regulations is gaining speed, on both the national and state levels.

The supporters of these anti-First Amendment moves allege that they are seeking to reduce the influence of money in politics.  In reality, their goals fall into two categories:

First, incumbent protection.  By establishing complicated and arcane rules concerning filing reports, with significant penalties for any less than perfect compliance, rather than simple requirements that the names of donors and the amounts provided (filed following the end of a campaign) be provided, they impose significant financial and legal burdens on challengers. Absent the access to professional assistance incumbents possess, citizens seeking to run must spend scarce resources and even more scarce time running a legally hazardous maze of requirements established by and for incumbents.

Second, partisan advantage. The Citizens United  decision held, as summarized by ScotusBlog,  that  “ Political spending is a form of protected speech under the First Amendment, and the government may not keep corporations or unions from spending money to support or denounce individual candidates in elections. While corporations or unions may not give money directly to campaigns, they may seek to persuade the voting public through other means, including ads, especially where these ads were not broadcast.” Many on the left of the political spectrum believe that this upset advantages they long held, and have sought to enact legislation and regulation to restore that advantage.

There have been measures, some of which have passed and others blocked, that have sought to reduce the effectiveness of the First Amendment in an attempt to regain that advantage.

One extremist measure that failed was a piece of legislation introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) to initiate the constitutional amendment process in order to limit the effectiveness of the First Amendment.  The proposed limitation on free speech rights would have excluded paid political speech from constitutional protection.

So don’t wait for long, consult him and get rid of fatal consequences of tragedy. “A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles.” – William Hazlitt A wide smile, an ear-to-ear grin, a joyful laugh: these are all actions that denote happiness and levitra 20mg uk satisfaction in women. A bearer generic cialis sample http://downtownsault.org/downtown-sault-ste-marie-welcomes-northern-harvest-creations/ may initiate with sexual role at once. An overdose of nitrates in body see for more viagra price can lead to a wide variety conditions such as such as coronary artery disease and peripheral vascular disease. In addition, it has been found that watermelon contains a high concentration of citruline, which is an amino acid that cheap levitra tablet constitutes many proteins and it is capable of self hypnosis, the task becomes relatively easier. A radical legislative item has been approved by the New York State Legislature. The measure openly headlines its goal as “Enacting the nation’s strongest protections to combat Citizens United.” Among other mandates, it imposes a requirement of across the board disclosure of donors and staff, and provides a first-ever disclosure requirement for “political consultants.” At first glance, that appears comparatively innocuous. However, the devil is in the details. According to the legislation’s language, almost anyone who has ever had any relation or association with anyone even remotely connected to a campaign would have to be disclosed. In essence, it criminalizes anyone with an active interest in politics. Further, it substantially intimidates anyone seeking to provide summaries of their perspectives on the issues or advice on how to present those views from speaking with a candidate in any substantive manner. Independent advocacy groups promoting anything from environmental protection to benefits for veterans would be handicapped.

The details of the law provide a chilling attack on First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and association, in a manner that clearly helps incumbents and handcuffs challengers. Even nonpartisan organizations that openly disagree with particular policies of elected officials would be subjected to onerous reporting requirements merely for stating their beliefs, while incumbents could continue to speak their views unencumbered.

It gets even worse.  Assume you are a motorist who has become tired of replacing tires destroyed by potholes not repaired by the state, and you are angered that your elected official has done nothing to address the problem. You, acting entirely on your own, decide to air your grievance on social media, and perhaps write a few letters to newspapers.  Under the law’s definition, you should have registered as an independent committee, subject to all the red tape and legal requirements that implies. Clearly, that prevents private citizens not wishing to be subjected to penalties from criticizing their errant local official, or even seeking to organize friends and neighbors to protest.

The anti-First Amendment drive involves regulation as well as legislation. The Democrat members of the Federal Election Commission attempted to impose a penalty on one news station that has been uniformly critical of the Obama Administration, based on a complaint from an obscure candidate that he wasn’t invited to a televised debate. Of course, those same commissioners have never considered imposing similar sanctions against the Democrat National Committee, which has inappropriately tilted towards Hillary Clinton in her primary effort against Bernie Sanders. The attempt was blocked by Republican Commissioners.

The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly held, even long before the Citizens United case, that campaign contributions and expenditures are protected by the First Amendment. Legalities aside, common sense in a free nation dictates that public statements made by citizens or organizations disagreeing (or agreeing) with their elected officials is a vital activity in a free nation.

The numerous attempts to use campaign regulation, which should reasonably only consist of open disclosure of all contributions, as a vehicle to immunize incumbents from criticism, and to tilt the balance of power in a partisan manner, is an affront to the entire concept of a free people.

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White House Violates Constitutional Spending Provisions

New information has added to the belief that President Obama’s signature legislative goal has skirted ethical standards both in the manner in which it was passed, and the ways it has been executed.

The Affordable Care Act,  better known as Obamacare, provided a controversial change in the nature of American health care insurance.  Far more questionable than the contents of the legislation, however, was the nature in which it was enacted. It has now been revealed that unconstitutional practices have been engaged in to carry out the bill’s provisions, in an attempt to mask major financial failings of the concept.

Despite the major changes the legislation was destined to provide to the administering of health care as well as the U.S. economy, Representatives and Senators (and the American public) were never given the opportunity to review the major legislation they were being asked to approve.  Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) famously said  “We have to pass the bill so you can find out what is in it.”

At the time, both houses of Congress, as well as the White House, were under the control of the Democrat Party.  There was no viable means to force the bills’ proponents to adhere to legal procedures.

The results of an investigation by the House Ways and Means Committee  have revealed that a bedrock Constitutional provisions has been violated.

According to the “Joint Congressional Investigative Report Into The Source Of Funding For The ACA’s Cost Sharing Reduction Program,”

“More than two centuries ago, this country adopted the Constitution as the blueprint and basis for our federal government. While this framework has been amended over the years, the system of checks and balances among the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial branches remains firmly intact. Congress passes laws, and the Executive branch implements them. The Constitution further makes clear [In Article 1, Section9]  that the power of the purse lies with Congress—“No money shall be drawn from the Treasury but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law[.]” This requirement ensures that the Executive branch does not spend taxpayer money without the approval of Congress.

The Administration, however, has done just that. Since January 2014, the Administration has been paying for the cost sharing reduction (CSR) program established by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) without a lawful congressional appropriation. This action is a clear constitutional violation of the most fundamental tenet of appropriations law.

Found under Section 1402 of the ACA, the CSR program requires health insurance companies that offer qualified health plans to reduce co-payments, deductibles, and other out-of pocket expenses for eligible beneficiaries. Section 1412(c)(3) authorizes the federal government to make direct payments to insurance companies to offset estimated costs incurred by providing these CSRs to eligible beneficiaries. Nothing in the ACA provides an appropriation or a source of funding for the CSR program. Therefore, the Administration needed to request an appropriation from Congress to make CSR payments to insurance companies.

The Administration, however, has been making CSR program payments through a permanent appropriation, found at 31 U.S.C. § 1324. This appropriation can only be used to disburse money for specific, enumerated programs, including tax refunds and several enumerated refundable tax credits. Congress must amend this appropriation to include other programs.

Congress did just that for one part of the ACA—the premium tax credit. Congress did not do so,however, for the CSR program. Nevertheless, the Administration has been funding the CSR program through this permanent appropriation.”

The Committee’s findings include:

  • The Administration knew it could not use the permanent appropriation to fund the CSR program.
  • The Administration requested an annual appropriation for the CSR program, but shortly thereafter, informally withdrew the request.
  • The Administration developed a new—albeit illegal—path forward to pay for the CSR program. High-level IRS officials raised concerns about this plan, but the decision had already been made.

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“When Congress started asking questions about the source of funding, the Administration refused to provide answers.

“The Committee’s conclusion present clear evidence of an intentional violation of a key Constitutional tenet:

“The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act did not—and still does not—provide funding for the cost sharing reduction program. The Administration knew that. Internal Administration memoranda acknowledged that fact. Actions taken by the Administration in 2012 and 2013 demonstrated that fact. And indeed, the Administration initially requested an annual appropriation to fund the CSR program, knowing that the ACA did not provide a source of funding for the program and thus necessitated further Congressional action.

“Yet, for reasons still unclear, the Administration informally withdrew that request by surreptitiously calling the Senate Committee on Appropriations, leaving no paper trail and hiding its actions from the public, before Congress denied it. The Administration then concocted a post hoc justification to raid the premium tax credit account—which was lawfully funded through the 31 U.S.C. § 1324 permanent appropriation—to pay for the CSR program. It memorialized this legal justification in an OMB memorandum reviewed by very senior Administration officials at multiple departments, including the Attorney General himself. IRS officials expressed concerns about funding the CSR program through this permanent appropriation. How could the Administration fund the CSR program this way without violating appropriations law? But when they expressed those concerns, they were essentially told that the decision had been made. Like it or not, the Administration was going forward with funding the CSR payments through the 31 U.S.C. § 1324 permanent appropriation. And it did so knowing that it would violate appropriations law, the Antideficiency Act, and ultimately, the United States Constitution.”

 

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What Happens if America Loses in Afghanistan

The President’s decision to allow 8,400 U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan until next year is a recognition of the extraordinary harm that would result if the mistake he made in Iraq is repeated.

Mr. Obama’s total withdrawal of all U.S. troops in Iraq led to the disaster in Iraq, the rise of ISIS, general turmoil throughout the Middle East, and an escalation of worldwide terrorism. The result of withdrawing from Afghanistan while the Taliban is increasingly resurgent would be equally devastating.

While American troops could not remain in Afghanistan indefinitely, progress achieved before the current administration has been jeopardized by a series of poor decisions by the Obama Administration, including the opening of negotiations with the Taliban in violation of long-standing American policy of not negotiating with terrorists, and, against military advice, the announcement of a withdrawal date. The Obama White House has clearly renounced the goals candidate Obama announced “This is not a war of choice. This is a war of necessity. Those who attacked America on 9/11 are plotting to do so again. If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which Al Qaida would plot to kill more Americans. So this is not only a war worth fighting; this is a – this is fundamental to the defense of our people.”

While the decision is appropriate, it may not be sufficient.

Off the record conversations by the New York Analysis with individuals who have been part of the U.S. effort in Afghanistan have indicated that during the Obama presidency the fight against the Taliban has been plagued by shortages of equipment, the forced layoffs of key officers, and the general reduction of funding for the U.S. military.

In 2014, notes the BBC,  Taliban leaders declared “victory” as NATO withdrew its (mostly American) forces, leaving only a residual training force. The potential to reduce the Taliban to relative impotence was eliminated in 2012, when America abandoned its policy of not negotiating with terrorists and the White House outlined a policy goal that discarded the prior Administration’s reasoning for entering into the conflict in the first place.
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A Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) study  notes that the “Taliban has seized swaths of rural Afghanistan in such provinces as Helmand, Uruzgan, Nangarhar, and Kunduz. Over the past year, Taliban forces have also conducted several offensives against district and provincial capitals. In September 2015, for example, the northern city of Kunduz temporarily fell to the Taliban before being retaken by government forces.”

Clearly, the CFR notes, more than just a diminished commitment to victory by Washington is to blame for the reversal of fortunes. “[T]he effectiveness of the National [Afghan] Unity Government continues to be undermined by poor governance and internal friction between President Ashraf Ghani, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Abdullah Abdullah, and their supporters.”

The Taliban resurgence could be halted through greater U.S. emphasis on fulfilling original goals such as insuring fair elections, and economic development of areas beyond the Taliban’s control. But a military option—similar to the 2007 “surge” in Iraq that produced outstanding results (which were destroyed as a result of the Obama pullout) remains the most important. The 8,400 troops will not accomplish that goal.  It prevents an immediate disaster but leaves the hard decision-making to the next President.

The CFR study suggests that  “The United States could halt further reductions—or even increase—the number and type of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. These forces can train, advise, assist, and accompany Afghan forces and conduct direct-action missions; supplement Afghan forces with more intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance enablers; and increase close air support. The United States could also broaden U.S. counterterrorism legal authorities to proactively target the Taliban and Haqqani network. At the moment, U.S. forces can only target al-Qaeda and ISIL-KP operatives in Afghanistan, except in situations where extremists are plotting attacks against U.S. or other international forces or during in extremis cases where the Afghan government requests U.S. aid. The United States could also increase the authority for U.S. forces, particularly conventional forces, to train Afghans below the corps level.”

It is fully understandable that after so long the American public would be weary of the effort in Afghanistan. But the results of a Taliban resurgence should also be realized. The Taliban played a key role in the 9/11 attacks, and would commit vast new resources if power is regained in Afghanistan. The influence that would be gained in neighboring Pakistan would be dramatic. A complete takeover of that government would give the terrorists access to the Pakistani nuclear arsenal.