Blunt Talk on National Security Readiness
By SusanUnPC on March 2, 2008 at 8:36 AM in Barack Obama, Flag officers, Foreign Affairs, Intelligence, Iraq, Soldiers/Veterans
He may speak a bit differently than the 28 flag officers who have endorsed Hillary Clinton. The Osama part is over the top, but he gets it about readiness, just like the 28 flag officers. This Gulf veteran knows who should be Commander in Chief:
In her new recommended diary at MyDD, “Sometimes It’s Not About You Barack,” our guest columnist, Alegre, brings out an under-reported fact in Sen. Clinton’s unique experience in national security and military readiness:
In 2004 Hillary was asked by the Department of Defense to serve as the only Senate member of the Transformation Advisory Group to the Joint Forces Command. The military wanted her on that committee – she was the only Senator invited to serve on this committee tasked with reforming the Pentagon. [MORE on that below.]
There’s more blunt talk in “Military fears ‘unknown quantity’” — and keep in mind that retired veterans see this the same way:
Members of Washington’s military and defense establishment are expressing trepidation about Sen. Barack Obama, as the Illinois senator comes closer to winning the Democratic presidential nomination and leads in national polls to become commander in chief.
More:
[T]he mostly conservative retired officers, industry executives and current defense officials interviewed by The Washington Times cite Mr. Obama’s lack of experience in national security. They also point to his determination to pull American combat units from Iraq at a time when a troop surge has reduced violence, damaged al Qaeda and allowed the Iraqi government to progress toward Sunni-Shia-Kurd reconciliation.
“We’re very concerned about his apparent lack of understanding on the threat of radical Islam to the United States,” said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, who is pro-Iraq war and a Fox News analyst. “A lot of retired senior officers feel the same way.”
Mr. Obama also has stirred concern in national security circles by pledging to talk to the leaders of rogue nations, such as Iran and North Korea, without preconditions.
His urging of the Bush administration to conduct air strikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan without its approval is privately derided inside the Pentagon as the way to ruin relations with a good ally. Pakistan will not allow U.S. combat troops to operate on its soil.
Questions about Mr. Obama’s commander-in-chief qualifications have reached the campaign trail. …
[...]
The Obama campaign has assembled a team of national security advisers, most of whom worked in the Clinton administration, including former national security adviser Anthony Lake. To date, Mr. Obama has attracted few retired admirals and generals as supporters.
Mrs. Clinton has the backing of two dozen flag officers [now 28]. “She knows and respects our armed forces,” said Lee Feinstein, her campaign’s national security director. “She is the person in this race who is most qualified to be commander in chief.”
But Loren Thompson, who runs the Lexington Institute and stays in touch with defense industry executives, said Mr. Obama is difficult to categorize.
“His views are all over the map depending on whether its nuclear proliferation, energy independence or the global war on terror,” …
Here’s more from Alegre, who did the research on Hillary’s distinguished work as the sole member of the U.S. Senate on the Transformation Advisory Group to the Joint Forces Command (sans indentation):
Take a look at their Command mission and strategic goals …
U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) provides mission-ready, joint-capable forces, and supports the development and integration of joint, interagency, and multinational capabilities …Four mission areas – joint concept development and experimentation, joint training, joint capabilities development, and joint force provider – support accomplishment of the command’s strategic goals:
Providing focused support to win the Global War on Terrorism – USJFCOM’s joint enabling capabilities provide combatant commanders and joint task force (JTF) headquarters with the capabilities they need to successfully achieve objectives. The command’s support teams serve an important role in determining and documenting gaps in existing and planned service capabilities . …
Providing trained, capable and interoperable joint forces – As DoD’s joint force provider, USJFCOM assigns nearly all conventional forces based in the continental United States, providing trained and capable forces to commanders in the field. Building a joint force requires a considerable degree of coordination with active, National Guard and reserve elements . …
Improving global force management and visibility – …
Developing robust joint command and control capabilities …
Alegre continues:
They sought her out for her knowledge and experience to serve on this committee. She didn’t seek it out and ya know what else – she actually shows up when there’s work to be done. And boy does this lady know her stuff – take a look at part of her address before Center for a New American Security in June of last year …
I’m a member of the Transformation Advisory Group, which is a part of the U.S. Joint Forces Command. I was asked to join several years ago.
Senator Clinton continues:
It’s a unique advisory group, charged with thinking of new ideas to move our military and government into a more forward leaning, forward thinking posture.
… [I]it’s not just about what the military can and must do, but how the rest of the government has to be value-added and work together in a much more coordinated way.
Our increasingly interconnected world demands an interconnected strategy that takes into account political, economic, diplomatic and military concerns. When developing military strategy, our military leaders no longer speak of the battlefield, but they talk about the situation. They are much more adept than many people actually understand, that the battlespace goes far beyond the battlefield. And we need that kind of multidimensional thinking, both inside and outside the walls of the Pentagon.
So let’s make an effort to increase the number of soldiers proficient in foreign languages, instead of kicking out interpreters who happen to be gay. Let’s be sure our policies reflect concern for the will of governments and the perceptions of peoples. Let’s make sure that we look just not at the Quadrennial Defense Review but at a document that looks at all of the government’s responses to the threats and opportunities we face …
Alegre adds this kicker in “Sometimes It’s Not About You Barack“:
As for that ad she’s running in Texas, it wasn’t about BO – it was about her and her readiness to lead on day one. Sometimes it isn’t about some guy when a woman touts her own experience and readiness.
Larry Johnson offers a somber assessment in his new article here, “Are We Preparing to Start a New Middle East Fire?”:
Let’s not forget that Hezbollah has vowed to retaliate for the assassination last month of the Hezbollah terrorist chief, Imad Mughniyeh. Next couple of weeks could be pretty interesting. This will be a further reminder of how unprepared Barack Obama is to be President. Well intentioned but way over his head.
If you’ve never read it, I urge you to read Larry Johnson’s fascinating account of advising Sen. Clinton twice on “terrorism and Iraq”:
… I have been in her office twice and briefed her on issues concerning terrorism and Iraq. If you had asked me before my first visit in 2005 if she could be president I would have said, “There are two ways–no way and no way in hell”. Sadly, much of my initial opinion about Senator Clinton was based on the filth I had heard about her lack of character and private behavior. [...]
I was not alone at the briefing–there were two other participants who are well-known experts on the Middle East and Iraq. We had not submitted our briefings in advance. We made our respective presentations and had a genuine, in-depth discussion about viable options. She asked us tough questions and could think on her feet without having to look at notes. She focused on what could be done to achieve U.S. interests in Iraq without bleeding our country’s treasury and military.
As we talked about the limits and efficacy of using military assets to go after terrorist targets, the Senator brought up the book, Not a Good Day to Die by Sean Naylor. She did more than bring it up. She described in detail the challenges that special operations military forces actually face on the ground. I was stunned. This is not an easy book to read. It is an excellent work and provides enormous detail on special operations and CIA military activities in Afghanistan during Operation Anaconda. But it is tough sledding for folks not familiar with military terminology. She had it nailed, and it was not a mere pre-planned politician’s trick. She knew what she was talking about.
I came out of that meeting and realized I could be seeing the next President. …
Read all of “Am I a Hillary Cheerleader?” by Larry Johnson.
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, the novel by John Le Carre, a new motion picture starring Gary Oldman and Colin Firth.
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