TxPolitics_CurrentEvents

Chairman JCS - NYTimes Interview

The on-line New York Times carried an article summarizing a interview with Admiral Mike Mullen, the newly appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  The Chief was making the point that the current budget for the armed services would have to continue at a higher level that had been the case in the post cold war period.  The current 4% of the Gross National Product should be considered a floor for the next several years as the force is reconstituted, reset and revitalized. 

The Chief's observation that the Air Force and Navy is now the countries strategic reserve for any contingencies outside of Iraq & Afghanistan makes this old Airman uncomfortable.

There is an link to the full Q&A interview within the Times piece.  Check it out here.  The NYT on-line may require registration with a valid e-mail address but there are no charges.

Technorati Tags: Iraq, JCS, Mike Mullen, Admiral Mullen, NYT Interview

General Sanchez - Media Storm

Lieutenant General (Ret.) Ricardo S. Sanchez delivered a public speech to the Military Reporters and Editors at a luncheon on 12 October.  The speech was widely referenced in the media and considerable comment has been generated.  Because of that comment I've provided the link above as a public service.  It is to the transcript of the speech posted on the host's website. 

Of interest are the opening paragraphs which have generated a lot of smoke in the blogosphere.  For those interested, here is a set of blog references found in Technorati.  Reading some of them makes me wonder if some even read the reports in the NYTimes and the rest of the mainstream media which have generated the controversy.

Technorati Tags: Ltg Sanchez, Iraq, Media, Sanchez

Busch and the Generals - A Dustup?

Dustup: Noun: slang - A row, dispute

Thanks to Richard Wilson and his vacuum cleaner operation of collecting items of interest, here are two items from Foreign Affairs on what 20/20 hindsight provides us about the performance U.S. general officers during the run-up to Iraq and the current state that we now find ourselves.

The first article "Bush and the Generals" by Michael C. Desch was in the May/June 2007 issue.  The thrust of the piece is that "Salute and Obey" environment has been damaging the professional military since Vietnam.  That once the civilian authority makes up it's mind on a course of action the military must implement that action even if it believes it is the a bad idea. 

The second article is a headlined response to the Desch article in the September/October 2007 issue of Foreign Affairs.  It contains responses from former Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Richard Myers and Richard Kohn a 45 year student of the relationship between military an it's civilian masters.  Mackubin Thomas Owens the Associate Dean of Academics and Professor of National Security Affairs at the Naval War College.  Perennial Defense expert and commenter Lawrence J. Korb. 

Of the group I found Korb's comments to be the most intriguing especially his views on General Petraeus. 

Desch's long response to these observations is enlightening. For those with an interest in this dustup these two pieces are certainly worth the read.

Technorati Tags: Iraq, Bush and Generals, Desch