Posted on 12/16/2015 6:51:59 AM PST by don-o
Sounds like the whole damned nuclear triad needs updating. How much will it cost?
BS. Trump likely knows what the triad is. Even if he didn’t, no one has used that term in 20 years.
Moreover, he has no way of knowing WHICH leg is most in need. He doesn’t have access to that information. He stumbled on how not to say “I don’t know which” without sounding inexperienced.
SET UP for Rubio.
I don’t want a President who “knows everything” because such a person does not exist. I want a President with integrity and a conviction to abide by the Constitution.
I want a President with a clear understanding of human nature as opposed to political/sociological jingoism.
I want a President with the ability to choose wise and knowledgeable advisers who, collectively will “know almost everything” and be able to get the lacking information.
I want a President with a great BS detector when it comes to his advisers and the Press.
I want a President who always knows that he is accountable to the American people and, more importantly, to God, for his actions and inaction.
A man of Integrity, Honor & Courage.
(IOW, neither a lawyer nor a politician)
/s on that last requirement...maybe sarcasm....
I don't know what to be more impressed with, the fact that the term "nuclear triad" was readily used in 1963-4 given that nuclear SSBNs were only operational for about 2 years prior, or that at age 12, the term stayed with you all these years.
Regardless, "nuclear triad" is not a term bandied about that frequently today. It's almost passé in the modern lexicon. While I'm not attempting to defend Trump, I'll bet he's heard of SSBN submarines, B-1 and B-2 bombers, and land-launched cruise missiles.
What we need in a President is not someone well-versed in every little piece of trivia. We need someone with solid conservative principals, who knows how to surround themselves with bright people that can explain things when needed. We need an executive.
What Ben Carson said applies here....that our government was deisgned for citizen-statesmen not career policy wonks nor professional politicians.
The game is over.
Donald Trump word salad doesn’t fly when talking about nuclear weapons.
A candidate who likes to paint himself as pro-military should have more than a third-grade education on our deterrent.
Neither did I.
I know about our delivery systems for nuclear weapons but that the three had a name I did not know.
Trump knew the definition of the Triad, and Rubio pretending Trump did not know the meaning of the nuclear Triad then went on to waste more time saying what Trump already said in far fewer words than Rubio.
According to Jimmy Carter, it is: Nu-kee-ur, or something close to that. Could never see what that word was so difficult for two presidents to pronounce.
Neither of them could get that "cl" sound into their pronunciation.
You and I are in the minority about what is a reasonable expectation for a potential CIC of the USA.
Not knowing the basics is now a positive.
Nothing surprises me anymore.
Then we’ll just have to work harder.
The idea of Donald Trump having access to the nuclear football should be enough to scare the hide off Americans.
He is in no way fit to be CIC.
“Can’t help you if you don’t care to try to be informed of basic concepts of defense policy.”
Trump clearly answered the question, clearly understood the meaning of the Triad, and clearly responded saying the nuclear capability (meaning the entire Triad) needed to be strengthened. Rubio only reiterated what Trump already said but had to use more words to say it.
'Nuclear Triad' is perhaps an outdated term overtaken by technology. Where does one put the cruise missile? It can be launched by sub, surface, or air; so which leg of the triad would it be considered part of?
I would guess the bomber leg, which takes that leg's number of delivery systems from the lowest number to the highest.
IIRC less than 20 of each, but that’s a fuzzy number as increased maintenance could probably put more in service. But the B52’s and B1’s aren’t properly counted in this leg because they are obsolete and probably not sufficiently likely to complete their missions against modern air defenses. Only the B1’s count I think.
And I wonder about the state of the ICBMS too.
I was surprised to find that one thread in the archives. But it helps illustrate how technical the question is and why it is not a suitable question for a presidential debate. A gotcha question from one of the usual suspects.
I guess I am more interested in the candidates that have demonstrated leadership skills rather then electing another “I know everything so I don’t need to listen to anyone” Obama type President.
“How many B-52’s and B-1’s are operational?”
In accordance with the INF treaty the B-I bomber is no longer configured to deploy nuclear weapons.
At least Trump didn’t think that the Nuclear Triad was the Father, Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Yeah cause having a President, Obama, who could parrot all the correct answers at the debate, and then thought because he had all the asnwers he was too smart to listen to the Generals and Admirals has worked out so well for us.
The subs had just come into the inventory a few years before and Minuteman missiles were hurried to completion and deployment as a result of the Cuban Missile crises. The Triad concept started to be explained in public as a result of the crises in order to calm the public fear that we were defenseless even though we had bombers, subs, and Atlas/Titan missiles in place already. I was a witness to what was going on and my father made sure we understood what this was all about. We also probably heard a bit more about it at the time because we lived at that time in South Dakota where they were in the middle of installing Minuteman I missiles in the western part of the state. The Ellsworth missile wing was one of my assignments over the years.
I know very well that Trump knows about the basic components of deterrence but his statements will always be taken by the idiot press and twisted to suit their goal to dump Trump.
You are correct; we need an executive, a chief executive who will choose the correct people to implement policies and advise on policy with the final decisions being made by the chief executive.
The president should be the director and final decision maker based on the advice of his knowledgeable team.
We have not had that situation for years.
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