Posted on 05/19/2017 6:10:20 AM PDT by blueplum
All the 911 hijackers were saudis. I guess I’m the only one that never forgot. Isn’t it wonderful they get sweetheart deals now.
Frequently minor changes in the terms and conditions of a contract will impact the total cost. For instance, minor schedule changes could allow parts of the contract to be done as fill-in work. This allows workers to be moved between various contracts more efficiently. Or, a very big item is a multi-year contract guarantee, which again allows more scheduling efficiency.
Or, a willingness to allow some flexibility on over or underruns. If someone orders 100 missiles, these are big complicated things, and Lockheed has to source parts for, say 120 to be certain of having 100 that make it through final QC. Well, what happens if 106 make it through? If the customer will buy them, this could deserve a unit price reduction. Or, if the customer will accept 90 to 110, instead of exactly 100, that is another reason for a price cut. The more flexibility Lockheed gets, the lower the cost.
Or they could back off on specs. There is an operating temperature range for THAAD, don't know what it is, but it is pretty wide because our military has to operate anywhere from the arctic to the tropics. Saudi Arabia could easily back off on low temperature requirements for their missiles, and never have any problem. This could easily lower costs. Lots of ways to skin this cat, and there is no skullduggery at all... This is all part of the give and take in a capitalist system, not some nefarious plot.
Having the GOPe out to get you is no excuse for trying to outflank them on the left.
Jivanka have got to go—as well as all of the traitors they pressured Trump to bring into his administration—for Trump to succeed.
He’s got to more or less start from scratch and not waste any time doing so. But I am afraid he’s feeling enough pressure relaxed in the immediate term with the special counsel to push off such tough decisions.
You are right about your thesis, there are many ways that costs can be reduced. For example, sometimes a system is purchased without software support. (foolish, but it could de done to save money), and we may not want to share software with foreign countries anyway.
However, the design of the THAAD (for the full temperature range) cannot be changed as each missile is not tested over the full temperature range. Some subset of the missiles are tested but all are designed for the full range and therefore reducing this specification would not qualify for a price reduction.
I would disagree about this. Trump is not someone who can be unduly influenced by his staff (despite what you read in the left’s favorite criticism of him). He can and should have family advice, these people are smart, know a subset of the population (Jews) and have run businesses. Ivanka is also a proponent of certain women’s issues and this also helps Trumps profile.
For Trump to succeed, he needs to expose less of his opinions and stick to prepared speeches and not let them catch him being himself as often as he likes to do. I would start right now by never commenting on the Mueller investigation, just cut off all answers; “ I cannot comment on this ongoing investigation.”
Trump is being surrounded by GOPe and Democrat advisers—and he can’t make good decisions based on that. What is more, the people Jivanka have brought in, from Dina and Gary to Priebus and Johnny DeStefano.
I’m guessing you haven’t been paying attention to how the Trump traitors are keeping Trump supporters out of the WH and the cabinet agencies. Trite as the saying may be, personnel is policy, and Trump is being undermined by Never Trump traitors largely brought in, at the top, by Jivanka.
Thousands of anti-aircraft missiles in the hands of Israel’s enemy. And if the House of Saud falls?
Hey, I am all for getting rid of Obama appointees, but you want me to get rid of someone Trump has nurtured all her life. I am sure he knows what her opinions are (and yes, they are lefties like so many Jews) but Trump knows this.
Get rid of the people who he has no idea what they are doing to him — OK We agree.
But he needs to get rid of most of the people that Jivanka brought into his admin. That’s the problem. They’re not just Obama holdovers, though the GOPe head of personnel is slow-walking Trump appointees so that more Obama holdovers are still running things.
And he doesn’t need to fire them from being his daughter and SIL, just get them out of the central role in his admin. He needs pros—and conservative, Trump-loyal pros at that, in there instead.
Do we really want the THAAD system in Saudi hands?
Cut profit or saved a 100billion deal? That’s a lot of jobs right there - at Lockheed wages.
Saved a 100 billion deal or making weapons for a muslim country to be used on us one day?
I agree. Give me money and I will make a deal in your favor.
The son-in-law Jared Kushner will be trouble for Donald Trump.
The key advisors to the President on foreign affairs are General McMaster, the National Security Advisor, General Mattis, the Secretary of Defense,
Mike Pompeo, CIA Director and Rex Tillerson, the Secretary of State. They are all about as solid of pro-Trump professionals as you’re going to find anywhere.
You could hardly be more clueless. McMaster is as anti-Trump as they come. Where do you think the dishonest story in the Post about Trump spilling supersecret details to the Russians came from? And Tillerson is a Condi Rice/Bush family stooge. Mad Dog a neocon warmonger too. But don’t forget good Valerie Jarrett pal Dina Powell too.
I suggest taking a deep breath and then think. Does Donald Trump appear to you to be a person who would surround himself with key advisors in the most important foreign policy posts, WHO HE APPOINTED, who are his political enemies?
The signature on the Saudi arms deal will be “Donald J. Trump,” not anyone else’s and the signing ceremony is set for tomorrow.
President Trump’s Schedule for Saturday, May 20
After arriving in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s capital, President Trump will have coffee with King Salman of Saudi Arabia, attend a royal banquet and hold bilateral meetings with the king, the crown prince and the deputy crown prince.
Trump will participate in a SIGNING CEREMONY of “several agreements that will further solidify U.S.-Saudi security and economic cooperation.”
Trump and the first lady will attend an official dinner with the Saudi royal family.
I think it is time for you to look a little deeper into the likes of McMaster and Tillerson and how far they are from loyalty to Trump and his worldview.
What Trump did to get elected was heroic and unprecedented. But he has essentially failed in his first four months of executive leadership in the WH. He listened to Jivanka and had his staff filled with the GOPe, Democrats, neocons and Never Trumpers.
He needs to do a massive purge, bring in the sort of people he should have been listening to and brought in to start with. God bless him and give him strength for this much needed reboot.
Its kind of sad to me that you refuse to believe that the President of the United States is 100% his own man and that he is fully capable of making his own decisions.
Hasn’t he already proven that he will get rid of anyone who loses his trust and support?
If and when the president decides that members of his foreign policy/national security team are untrustworthy, I believe that he will fire them (see Michael Flynn, see James Comey).
Trump is a man, not a god.
And I just think you haven’t been paying attention.
It doesn’t take a God to know who you want to work for you. Donald Trump has been hiring and firing employees for a very long time. In fact, haven’t you noticed? He’s rather famous for it!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.