Posted by
Jay Noble on Monday, April 13, 2009 5:02:32 PM
It is somewhat of a relief that one area of the Federal government still functions with efficiency and professionalism. The rescue of Captain Phillips from the Somali pirates reminds us that the U.S. military remains the preeminent armed force in the world. I, for one, am very grateful for that. And, to the extent he deserves any credit for the rescue, I compliment President Obama.
That said, I wonder how much longer our military will maintain its position as the best in the world. The Obama administration plans to cut or eliminate several weapons systems, such as the F-22 air supremacy warplane, which give the U.S. a qualitative edge against actual or potential enemies. I believe that sacrificing military superiority to trim the budget is shortsighted. To do so premised on the believe that anticipated opponents can't or won't match our present technological prowess ignores history's lesson that you can never assume who will be your friend or foe. Moreover, when an administration plans to incur a deficit in a few years greater than that its 43 predecessors did in total, cutting defense spending seems less an economy measure than an ideological one.
Fundamentally, Obama and his administration, as all leftists, don't apprehend that we have enemies who desire to do us harm simply because of who we are, as opposed to what we do or have done. The terrorists hate us because we are free society not submitting to Mohammed and Allah; not because we have supported Israel in the past or invaded Iraq. The "smartest people in the room" which constitute this administration are terribly naive when it comes to understanding the motivation of barbarians. In this respect, they are eerily similar to the "Best and the Brightest" who served John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, who never understood the North Vietnamese.
We rightly celebrate the rescue of Captain Phillips. If we wish to retain the capacity to protect our citizens and national interest in the future, Congress must reject the Obama administration's defense cuts.