Strange ally to US taxpayers.

[hutch--]

There is an element of Chinese wisdom here.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/07/11/china.mullen/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

The top general of the world's largest military force apparently even keeps the welfare of American taxpayers in mind.

"I know the U.S. is still recovering from the financial crisis," Chen pondered aloud at the joint press briefing. "But it's still spending so much money on its military -- isn't that placing too much pressure on the taxpayers?"

"If the U.S. could reduce its military spending a little, and spend more on improving the livelihood of the American people and doing more good things for the world -- wouldn't that be a better scenario?"

[carlos]

"If the U.S. could reduce its military spending a little, and spend more on improving the livelihood of the American people and doing more good things for the world -- wouldn't that be a better scenario?"

That's what I call an Oxímoron, "Military Intelligence"  !!!!!!   :toothy  :toothy  :toothy

Carlos

[Bill Cravener]

"If the U.S. could reduce its military spending a little, and spend more on improving the livelihood of the American people and doing more good things for the world -- wouldn't that be a better scenario?"

Steve the man is correct!

I get so g*ddamn sick of the Republican party and crowds like that f*cking tea party bunch whining about too much money going out for entitlement programs. Screw all those son-a-bitches. Them bastards say we need to cut federal spending, I agree, but those bastards suggest massive cuts to social programs to cut out excessive spending. These sons-a-bitches also say that cutting social spending is the only way to ease the income tax burden on the middle class. They are all f*cking morons!!!

Did you know that 54 percent of US tax payers federal income tax dollars are spent on the military and making wars? And did you also know that only 30 percent of federal income tax dollars are spent on social programs such as education, nutrition programs and health and human services which benefit the health and well-being of the US citizen? The Republican party and its moronic followers can all go to hell! All politicians for matter!!!

Link to graph of Federal Fiscal Year 2012 Budget (released in February 2011) PDF. War on terror! Are we f*cking safe yet?

[dedndave]

 :bg
i am sure his motivation is the well-being of US taxpayers - lol
still, he makes a good point
but i am sure he will say whatever needs to be said to prod the US into spending less on military

[zemtex]

The u.s can't reduce military spending, they need the carriers present in the world. If they leave there will be a vacuum left over for someone else. They will cut military funding for other countries before they will cut their own and that is exactly what they are doing. They recently cut military funding for Pakistan. Who knows, maybe Israel is next  :lol

[Bill Cravener]

but i am sure he will say whatever needs to be said to prod the US into spending less on military

How pathetic it is that it takes some f*ucking Chinese general to point out the fact that America spends so much on making wars and so little on the health and well-being of the American citizen. Its f*uking down right embarrassing to say the least!!

[donkey]

The u.s can't reduce military spending, they need the carriers present in the world. If they leave there will be a vacuum left over for someone else. They will cut military funding for other countries before they will cut their own and that is exactly what they are doing. They recently cut military funding for Pakistan. Who knows, maybe Israel is next  :lol

Last I heard nearly 90% of the FMF budget went to Egypt, Iraq, Israel and Afghanistan for a total of around $10b. Lucky that they decided to finance those armies or they may have had to actually hire more teachers and fund education with the money, and we all know how much that would have pissed off the tea party folks. The great part of the whole FMF program is that the money is used to buy US made weapons from defense contractors so the money is channeled back into the fat cats wallets while little Johnny sits in a class with 45 students and text books that are 30 years old. God bless America !

The thing is that many people in the US have lost sight of what made the country what it is. It was the middle class, buoyed by unions demanding fair wages and working conditions that gave it the economic clout it has and it was the education system that kept it ahead in every technological race it entered. Now those things are under constant attack and groups like the tea party go on and on about how the very things that built America are destroying it. I saw a story the other day about how one governor ordered all references to unionized labor in a mural removed, and at the same time severely cut his education budget, at some point actions like that will erode the economic stability of the US and destroy hope for the future.

[hutch--]

Interestingly enough the current naval attack weapon for first world superpowers is nuclear armed nuclear submarines, carriers are past it in the big league. Everyone including the US can whack a target that big where nuclear submarines are hard to find at best. Carriers are now only useful for attacking 2nd and 3rd world powers who don't have the big league nukes to stop them. The next weapons race is space and this is probably a good thing, it will be like the old cold war days when no-one is game to push the button as a number of others have a button too.

Edgar,

I just read your post and wholeheartedly agree, its a tragedy that the US is being PHUKED over in this manner just to grease the palms of that bunch of greedy bastards.

[donkey]

Interestingly enough the current naval attack weapon for first world superpowers is nuclear armed nuclear submarines, carriers are past it in the big league. Everyone including the US can whack a target that big where nuclear submarines are hard to find at best. Carriers are now only useful for attacking 2nd and 3rd world powers who don't have the big league nukes to stop them. The next weapons race is space and this is probably a good thing, it will be like the old cold war days when no-one is game to push the button as a number of others have a button too.

In the event of 2 nuclear powers fighting, it doesn't make much difference what weapons platform you're using, survivability is low for any of them. However in conventional warfare the carrier is the king, it allows you to project air power to just about any place in the world and provides airborne defensive capability for the more specialized platforms such as the Ticonderoga missile cruisers and Arleigh Burke class destroyers. Also since the vast majority of nuclear weapons are land based, the ability to strike from the air before launch (if you get the chance) is critical and the key to that is to cut down on flight time since surprise attacks are difficult from 5000 miles away. The carrier is still the premier defensive and offensive platform and will be for the foreseeable future, after all there are no others that can hit up to 700 targets a day for a prolonged period.

[baltoro]

Not surprisingly, EDGAR knows way more about the US military strategy and tactics than most American citizens.
The POWER of the US Navy Carrier Battle Group is unsurpassed. And, the Navy's Aircraft Carriers are always deployed in large groups, consisting of Destroyers, Aegis Guided Missile Cruisers, Frigates, assorted supply ships, logistics support ships, fuel ships, and Attack Submarines. The United States has eleven carrier groups,...which is more than the rest of the rest of the world combined. Edgar is correct (as ALWAYS) in stating that the primary offensive function of the Aircraft Carrier is establishing and projecting Air Superiority.
I'm pretty sure (this may be TOP SECRET, so, mum's the word, OK?) that these Carrier Groups are well-supplied with cruise missile deployed nuclear weapons.
I defer to EDGAR's wisdom on that, though.

[Bill Cravener]

Lucky that they decided to finance those armies or they may have had to actually hire more teachers and fund education with the money, and we all know how much that would have pissed off the tea party folks.

Edgar, your understanding of how it is here in the states is one of the reasons I like you so much buddy!

By the way, I wish to apologize for all my cursing in this thread. I'm a fellow that makes his living using his hands (back and knees as well) and I've been suffering with the onset of arthritis for some 5 to 6 years now. We've been having temperatures in the low 90's F with 80+ percent humidity and because of the discomfort that aggravates and the difficulty in doing anything I've been a bit cranky lately.

[donkey]

Edgar, your understanding of how it is here in the states is one of the reasons I like you so much buddy!

Hi Bill,

I just find it insane that a government is allowed to spend billions funding other countries military while at the same time short circuiting its own future by cutting education funding. What person in their right mind can't see that the security of the US is based on economic and technological superiority and the key to maintaining that is the health of the middle class and the quality of the education system. It is the scientists and engineers that drive every advance in military hardware and sadly that is the sector of the budget that seems to be the first to get the axe. When the day finally comes that the US loses its lead we can all look back and say it was the likes of Palin and the tea party who wrote and implemented the final chapter. I have always (grudgingly) credited Eisenhower with the most insightful link between education and national security, though it was before my time and most Americans have no idea it ever existed, the NDEA acknowledged the importance of a top notch education to national security. But then Eisenhower was a military man and a pretty darn good one from an administrative standpoint, he always understood the importance of technological superiority and knew exactly where it came from.

[redskull]

Did you know that 54 percent of US tax payers federal income tax dollars are spent on the military and making wars?

That's a bold stat.  The link you posted only says 48%, and it takes several liberties with what it considers "making war".  Are we really considering VA hospitals, family housing, retirement pay, NASA, Homeland Security, and (an apparently arbitrary) 80% of the national debt as military spending?  I certainly agree that we need books more than we need bombs, but I would think that fact is self-evident without needing to skew the facts.

-r

[hutch--]

Edgar, something I keep track of on an irregular basis is anti-shipping missile capacity and the current batch on both sides generally cannot be detected until they are too close and generally cannot be stopped. Chinese, Russian, American, Iranian and a host of others are seeing entry speeds of something like 10000 mph and can perform very aggressive movements near the contact end. This is an area where missile technology has outstripped defensive capacity and its pretty much the case that surface shipping is an easy target for technically advanced enemies.

The only place a carrier group is still useful is against enemies that don't have advanced weaponry with the appropriate reach range, places like Iraq, Somalia and the like, most 1st world enemies would simply sink the carrier group. I was a fan of 1960s detente, its like a group of guys sitting in the same room carrying 6 shooters and no-one is game to fire the first shot. MAD (mutually assured destruction) was a great peacemaker, I would hope to see it again in my lifetime.

RE: US military spending, if the world went MAD, it could justify only spending 50% more than the rest of the world combined than 10 times and the balance of taxpayers money could be spent on TADA !!!! Americans, new bridges, better education for the kids, pensions for the old timers, safe reliable employment for people lower down the food chain and turn the US back into the greatest country in the world.

[vanjast]

Well, every nation has it's turn at the top...
The USA looks as if it's passed it's peak, and China looks like the new guy.
That's if they get their story right though.
:8)