Many across the world have been startled by President Obama’s minimal response to national security threats, including expanded terrorist attacks within the United States, Russia and China’s increases in both military spending and aggressiveness, and the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea.
Unlike prior debates on how much to spend and what defense policies to pursue, the concern expressed by many, including Republicans, some Democrats, and a number of retired generals and admirals—as well as at least one former secretary of defense—is that President Obama ignores and distrusts the military to an unprecedented degree.
According to a Government Accountability Institute report, “[During] the president’s first 2,079 days in office, running from January 20, 2009 through September 29, 2014… Obama attended a total of 875 Presidential Daily Briefs for an overall 42.09% attendance rate. Additionally, GAI compared the attendance rate during the first term to the attendance rate in the second term… First Term: President Obama was inaugurated on January 20, 2009 and was re-elected in November 2012. Between January 20, 2009 and January 19, 2013, President Obama attended 620 PDBs over a possible 1,461 days for a 42.43% attendance rate. • Second Term: President Obama was inaugurated for his second term on January 20, 2013. Between January 20, 2013 and September 29, 2014, President Obama attended 255 PDBs over a possible 618 days for a 41.26% attendance rate.”
The President’s apparent disdain for military advice and disinterest in national security matters has created significant concern in Washington. According to the Washington Times, “Key lawmakers from both parties say frustration with the White House among the top military officers is at its highest level in decades, the product of President Obama’s cautious approach to the wars in Syria and Iraq and an indecisive inner circle of White House advisers who, critics say, have iced the Pentagon out of the policymaking process.”
It’s not just uniformed officers and GOP elected officials that are concerned. The Washington Times also quotes Rep. Adam Smith, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. “Frustration among the uniformed service is real… does keep things in the White House and has not been more inclusive in the decision-making process.”
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Breitbart reports: “Former Defense Secretary Robert Gates said President Obama distrusted the military, and “this was particularly true in Afghanistan I think there were people in the White House, and I don’t want to name any names, who were constantly goading him and saying the military is trying to box you in. the military is trying to trap you. the military is trying to bully you. The military is trying to make you do something you don’t want to do.”
When asked if Vice President Joe Biden was one of these people, Gates answered, “I think so. And I was told so. And I think — but he was not alone, and you can argue with the options that they were putting forward, as President Bush did. You can disagree with them, as President Bush did. That’s totally fair, in my view. But, to think that they are trying to mousetrap you, I think is a — if I were the president and I truly believed that, I would replace those commanders that I felt were trying to trick me. So, I just — I worried a lot that he was hearing from people, things that made him worry that the military was consciously trying to thwart his will, consciously trying to be insubordinate, and I never believed any of that for a second.”
The Fiscal Times notes: “pushback from military commanders has been silenced by a distrustful White House that’s jealous of control and willing to penalize those who stray from the Oval Office narrative … Our military is being interfered with and directed by President Obama and a national security team that one retired general has described as ‘pathetically weak.’ …The Obama White House is remarkably devoid of ex-soldiers; that’s not an accident. The president’s contentious relationship with the military is well known.
“Confronting President Obama is risky. Senior military commanders who have gone public with their disagreements can find themselves facing early retirement. Sir Hew Strachan, a senior defense strategist in the U.K., cites the ouster of General Stanley McCrystal as a case in point… Senator John McCain has accused the White House of pushing out both Marine General James Mattis from U.S. Central Command and Army Lt. General Michael Flynn from the DIA for having contradicted Obama’s policies. Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey also broke with Obama numerous times, citing Russia as a major threat, for instance, and saying we might need boots on the ground to defeat ISIS. Dempsey retired in September.”