Posted on 02/11/2013 6:14:38 AM PST by SkyPilot
In a letter to congressional leaders organized by the Foreign Policy Initiative, national security leaders says, "stop sequestration now." The letter is signed by former senators Norm Coleman and Joe Lieberman, former defense secretary Bob Gates, Bill Kristol, and many others.
"Sequestration will result in unacceptable risk for U.S. national security. It will degrade our ability to defend our allies, deter aggression, and promote and protect American economic interests. It will erode the credibility of our treaty commitments abroad. It will be a self-inflicted wound to American strength and leadership in the world," reads the letter.
Here's the full text:
Dear Speaker Boehner, Senator Reid, Senator McConnell, and Representative Pelosi:
As the March 1st deadline nears for unprecedented, across-the-board cuts to our military, we write to urge you to work together to avoid this unnecessary and dangerous blow to American power and global leadership. You have each expressed your opposition to allowing these cuts to go into effect. They will go into effect without congressional action. You are the leaders of Congress. We ask that you act as leaders to stop sequestration now.
In recent days, the Defense Department leadership has developed its plans for operating under sequestration. The details that have been released thus far are chilling:
•The Navy has indefinitely delayed the deployment of a carrier strike group to the Persian Gulf—a decision that significantly weakens America’s ability to provide regional security and protection to allies at a time when the Iranian regime continues its work to acquire a nuclear weapons capability.
•The Air Force plans to cut the flying hours of its pilots by 18 percent, and more broadly will have to curtail the service’s ability to conduct air-to-air refueling, support Army logistical requirements and, by September of this year, train new pilots—reductions that cumulatively will...
(Excerpt) Read more at weeklystandard.com ...
A lot of heavy hitter signatories on this letter.
Sincerely,
Elliott Abrams
Robert G. JosephStephen G. Rademaker Max BootFrederick W. KaganRandy Scheunemann L. Paul BremerKimberly KaganGary J. Schmitt Eliot A. CohenRobert KaganRandall G. Schriver Norm ColemanZalmay KhalilzadDan Senor Seth CropseyWilliam KristolVance Serchuk Thomas DonnellyJoseph I. LiebermanJames Talent Mackenzie EaglenMary Beth LongAshley J. Tellis Eric S. EdelmanThomas G. MahnkenWilliam H. Tobey Douglas J. FeithMichael MakovskyDaniel Twining Robert M. GatesRobert C. McFarlaneKenneth R. Weinstein Christopher J. GriffinJoshua MuravchikRichard Williamson Stephen J. HadleyJohn NaglR. James Woolsey William InbodenMichael O’HanlonRobert Zarate Bruce Pitcairn JacksonDanielle Pletka
We are Greece. Austerity is the pill, but nobody wants to swallow it.
If sequestration occurs the first order of business would be to remove bad politicians from office but since that would take years I can’t see it really happening. You’d have to get rid of lobbyists (special interest power brokers) that feed the chain too. You’re going to have to change the heart of America to restore real law, order, and morality to have any permanent effect.
Why did the Muslim, RINOs and Jackass Party agree to this last year?
Give me some spending cutds Iwill take cuts where everr they com
Why did the Muslim, RINOs and Jackass Party agree to this last year?
Give me some spending cuts Iwill take cuts where ever they com
He's undermined the military at every turn. No more God...Fags....Gay marriage. Women in combat... The whole thing stinks.
Of course he'll get up there and say....all we have to do is get more money...and that means YOU have to make sacrifices. SAFPOS.
So much posturing. I listened to Colonel tony Shaeffer on Fox over the last couple of days. There are places to cut that don’t affect readiness. he spoke of a task force on IED’s that was stood up (JDIEC?) that has produced NOTHING in years. These are areas that can be looked at.
I don’t hear the Left talking about THEIR sacred cows..and believe me, they are there. And this is the ONLY opportunity for those to be cut. Defense spending can be found in other ways, through appropriations and other means.
Large contractors have been scaling back for months...I know, I worked for one.
They’ve had 18 months to work on avoiding this...don’t let them cave at the last minute and shove yet another piece of ill-prepared, back-stabbing measure to come to pass. This is 0bama’s to own. Let him choke on it.
The greater threat to national security and the nation itself is $16 trillion in Federal debt, trillions more in state and local debts, $100 trillion in unfunded entitlements, $3 billion a day in continued Federal deficit spending and a debased currency. Sequestration is preferable to continued spending. We will not be attacked, but we could disintegrate.
This is just what the Muslim commander in chief wants. Destroy the Defense Department for decades into the future and make it impossible for future presidents to fix it.
Sequestration will be Obama's "Mission Accomplished"
this is the state of Journalism in America today! According to http://www.defense.gov/specials/secdef_histories/ “William Kristol” was never Secretary of Defense. Best I could find is a “conservative” commentator.
We need to all understand that Obama will GUT the military regardless of sequestration. With sequestration, he will have to cut other spending as well. You have the strongest bargaining position only when you're willing to cut bait and walk away. The military will look no different in four years regardless of sequestration.
The solution to this is simple. Create a list of major Pentagon expenses, and indicate which ones of those are not to be cut. Then tell them to cut from the others.
They will squeal like a pig, because the first rule of bureaucracy is that when cuts are threatened, offer to cut the meat and leave the fat.
But when you *direct* the cuts solely at the fat, they have nothing, and have to cut the fat. But it doesn’t mean they like it, or will not lie about it.
“But without the soft serve ice cream dispensers in each office, the Pentagon will *literally* shut down!!!”
Yeah, b.s. Coffee machines, maybe. But not ice cream dispensers.
I seem to recall a presidential debate where Great Leader tisk-tisked the notion that there would be a sequestration. He assured us this would not happen. Therefore, it is not happening. Whatever in the world are these people talking about?
Good analogy. I say let the sequestration commence and let Obama figure it out. Congress can always fix it after Obama fails. Close every department in Federal Gobermint if they have to. At least the ones that are not vital. A tradeoff of Military cuts for the closing of the EPA, FEMA, Housing Dept., Interior, Fannie & freddie, the Czars, Election officials, numerous multi layered departments, etc... They are the Ice Cream Dispensers of the Fed.
Screw them. Let the sequestration happen, then pass a bill to re-fund just the military only.
It's just like immigration. Pass amnesty with the agreement the boarder will be sealed. The amnesty happens, and the boarder get's opened even more than it was before!!
Liars. All of them. If the sequestration dose not happen, taxes go back to what they were before the "agreement", and everyone gets their money refunded. They'll have to go back to square one and start over.
The ___ in the white house wins either way. The republicans, as usual, caved and agreed to the postponement they called sequestration. Now if they allow the cuts to go through it’s their fault. If they don’t, it means huge tax increases because you know “the one who must be worshipped” will not cut spending. The republicans played right into his plan to destroy America.
The ___ in the white house wins either way. The republicans, as usual, caved and agreed to the postponement they called sequestration. Now if they allow the cuts to go through it’s their fault. If they don’t, it means huge tax increases because you know “the one who must be worshipped” will not cut spending. The republicans played right into his plan to destroy America.
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