If a Republican were president say Sen. John McCain who lost to Obama in 2008 or Mitt Romney who failed to unseat him in 2012 he would have found a way to keep as many as 30000 American combat troops in Iraq making Iraq a violent client state rather than the distant disaster it is today. Troops would continue coming home in coffins and Iraq would feel the wrath of continued air strikes and raids. If Hillary Clinton had won the primary in 2008 and became president she would have rallied to keep combat troops in Iraq too…. If a Republican or Ms. Clinton were president American troops would still be in Afghanistan ….Secretary of defense Chuck Hagels plan declared on February 24th to reduce the military budget to the lowest level since before World War II seals Obamas real legacy. For Hagel to have done this in a way that enjoys a broad-based at least tacitly bipartisan recognition that the restructuring will not undermine American security is an impressive achievement. At Obamas bidding Hagels judicious slimming down restructuring and modernizing of Americas force structure together with Obamas winding down the presence of American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is an impressive historic legacy. The emergence of peace was foreshadowed by the 2009 award to the newly fledged President Obama of the Nobel Peace Prize. He has delivered impressively. Obamas successful confrontation with and victory over the Military-Industrial complex is striking. Peace is in the sweet spot of American and world priorities. Peace not the benighted Obamacare is Obamas signature initiative. Continuing to defend and even feature the botched Obamacare likely will cost the Democrats control of the US Senate this year. Meanwhile virtually unadvertised Obama is making good on his promise of ushering in a wave and likely an era of peace This columnist is a Tea Party Patriot right wing conspirator Republican Party loyalist and Obama opponent. It is with some trepidation therefore that he points out something that if noticed by the Democrats might be used to avert the onrushing Democratic Party rout. (The captains of the Other Team reportedly do not routinely read here their loss so making this observation is not a reckless act.)
Hagels speech cements President Obamas legacy. Hagel:
Our force structure and modernization recommendations are rooted in three realities:Thus has the Republican Secretary Chuck Hagel cemented the Democratic President Obamas legacy. Both thereby make a great contribution to Americas well being and likely to history. Guiding America home to or at least toward a peacetime footing not Obamacare is Obamas signature achievement. It is one that deserves recognition from conservatives and libertarians as well as progressives … and from all Americans.Accordingly our recommendations favor a smaller and more capable force putting a premium on rapidly deployable self-sustaining platforms that can defeat more technologically advanced adversaries. … The forces we prioritized can project power over great distances and carry out a variety of missions more relevant to the Presidents defense strategy such as homeland defense strategic deterrence building partnership capacity and defeating asymmetric threats. … Our recommendations seek to protect capabilities uniquely suited to the most likely missions of the future most notably special operations forces used for counterterrorism and crisis response. Accordingly our special operations forces will grow to 69700 personnel from roughly 66000 today.
- First after Iraq and Afghanistan we are no longer sizing the military to conduct long and large stability operations;
- Second we must maintain our technological edge over potential adversaries;
- Third the military must be ready and capable to respond quickly to all contingencies and decisively defeat any opponent should deterrence fail.