Political Irony

8 Comments

1. Patricia Andrews wrote:

   What are the citations for these figures? If they are accurate, shouldn’t somebody (actually many bodies) be screaming right now?

   Friday, January 28, 2011 at 4:59 pm | Permalink
2. chris otte wrote:

   start here, you can find all of the reports i reference from this report, i wish more people were screaming!

   http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/R40764.pdf

   Friday, January 28, 2011 at 7:37 pm | Permalink
3. Iron Knee wrote:

   Thanks Chris

   Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 10:06 am | Permalink
4. PatriotSGT wrote:

   Chris – while the information on contractors is true, they do not do the warfighting. When the military was reduced from cold war levels to present day strength it became impossible to supply itself, especially for 2 eith year wars. Once upon a time the army had a robust support command that provided everything from laundry services to various equipment repair personnel. They’re mostly gone now, but the need is not. Politicians (all brands) heralded the reduction of our military knowing that 40% will get handled by contractors, so it wasn’t really reduced at all. There are just those in and those out of uniform.
   Historically, there has always been civilian support for armies that follow behind the battle lines and provide necessary support to Soldiers.
   I agree though, that it is an immense machine that does not get alot of attention or oversight. The potential for corruption, waste and abuse is huge.

   Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 2:40 pm | Permalink
5. Iron Knee wrote:

   I was hoping you would comment on this post. Thanks.

   Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 4:11 pm | Permalink
6. PatriotSGT wrote:

   Here is a link explaining (in great detail) why our politicians will likely never cut military spending. I’ll apologize in advance because it is quite lengthy.

   http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175347/tomgram%3A_andrew_bacevich%2C_pentagon%2C_inc./

   Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 4:23 pm | Permalink
7. Iron Knee wrote:

   That is an excellent article. Very thought provoking. I read it a couple of weeks ago (from another source) but it is definitely worth rereading.

   Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 4:48 pm | Permalink
8. Patricia Andrews wrote:

   THanks for the links. Although I didn’t really need convincing! PtSgt — your link is old news in a way — my husband retired as an aerospace engineer and could add more to that article! Now, if only we could get more facts and less Charlie Sheen (et alia) we’d have it made! Keep up the good work!

   Saturday, January 29, 2011 at 6:02 pm | Permalink