So What's Going on Abroad Today?

If Hope & Change is heading east at the speed of light, and Cold Hard Reality is headed west at a steady marching pace, when will they collide?

And how big a mess will it make?

I respect the service you all have rendered this nation immensely. Our next President has a daunting defense military agenda before him - and will obviously make misjudgments as ALL Presidents before him have: from Washington to Bush. It is the job of heroes like you all to provide not only criticism - but objective constructive criticism and viable solutions. Hope and Change will not cure the ills of violence through warfare that has existed since God formed and breathed life into Man ... and Cain killed Abel. Indeed, I might postulate that war and violence on the part of Good Men is necessary to keep Evil in check. But it is your job to help contain it - and to deter it from rearing it's ugly head against Innocence. This edict is even prevalent in the Bible. You may not have supported Barack Obama as I did - but you are still citizens and have a responsibility through your voluntary profession. Thank you again, and I am grateful for your continued service.

It's starting all over again...lowering expectations and trying to equivocate everything obviously by the post above. Our enemies smell blood in the water already and all these people can do is obfuscate and make excuses.
It's going to make a big mess, especially for a President who is extremely wet behind the ears.

Chris - what are you trying to say?

We don't know:
o who the new SecDef will be.
o the composition of the House and Senate Armed Services & Military Construction committees.
o if the GOP will go for slash-&-burn politics mimicking the Dems;or, more likely, be a loyal opposition.

Hope&Change is powered by those things, not by those of us here. Also, how successful those of us here are depends upon Hope&Change. In short: the defense of our great Nation is not the sole responsibility of our military.

President-elect Obama and his team have promises to keep, and expectations to meet.

Hey DaveO

I thought my comments were quite clear - and not meant to be taken as anecdotal. I'll address your concerns.

> "who the new SecDef will be." ???
Bush Names Rumsfeld Defense Secretary, Thursday, December 28, 2000 source: http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/showtransition2001.php?fileid=bush_rumsfeld_1228

That was less than a month before the Inauguration. I know you're going to point out that we are in wartime - but it seems as Obama is well on the way to having this handled. He's Harvard educated - I doubt Gomer Pyle made the list.

> "the composition of the House and Senate Armed Services & Military Construction committees."

I see your concern. However, "...the designation of members of standing committees of the Senate occurs during the first session of a Congress at a date later than January 20." As well, The chair of each committee and a majority of its members represent the majority party. The chair primarily controls a committee’s business. Each party assigns its own members to committees, and each committee distributes its members among its subcommittees." I'm sensing some bias and apprehension about Dems from you - well they aren't all Hippies. I remember a certain Balkans conflict which was handled very well. Somalia not so much, but from what I can recall from recollection and accounts I've read - that was a Command issue moreso than Executive or Congressional. Er' hey I'm just 26 I was but a wee little lad when all that happened. Maybe I'm too dumb to know what a library looks like???

> "if the GOP will go for slash-&-burn politics mimicking the Dems;or, more likely, be a loyal opposition."

Oh God, let's hope not. Again, I'm only 26 but I was wise beyond my years. And being a Georgia resident I do remember a brilliant move by Newt Gingrich that successfully shut down government. Now I'm not partisan but didn't that help Clinton get elected to a second term? For Conservatives sake after this blowout I wouldn't pull any funny moves. (By the way, though by many "standards" I'm a Liberal with Conservative views I really like Newt.)

And point well taken, you guys in the military can't do it by yourselves. In fact I did not lay sole responsibility at the feet of our Servicemen. I just praised and admired you for it. Unfortunately, I have family obligations and they asked me at my graduation not to serve in the Marine Corps as was my intention. I regretfully to this day obliged. As for my responsibility, I abide by the 2nd Amendment proudly ;-) Oh and I'm soon off to law school.

Look, my comment was not to lower expectations. And, if you would've read it in the context it was posted you would've seen that. But I think maybe you focused on one point - that in which I said ALL U.S. Presidents have made military mistakes. Was I wrong in that assertion? Actually, I believe it historically recorded fact. And I'm sure Obama has no interest in losing his seat as President or seeing the downfall of this country because he failed to do Violence against Evil Men.

I look forward to your rebuttal.

Chris,

You certainly have a way with back-handed compliments. May I recommend keeping it simple: "thank you."

President Bush's selection of Rummy is not germaine to the discussion. Neither is Mr. Gingrich's showdown (among many) with President Clinton. These are things of the past. Whether you've served in the military or not (and good on you for getting accepted to law school, in all seriousness) is not part of it.

The dynamic between the SecDef, the members of the HSASC, Construction & Facilities committees, and the President(-elect) are germaine. The promises to veterans, families, servicemembers must be kept.

In the public domain, we know that two Clinton-era retreads are being considered for SecDef. We know that President-elect Obama's military advisors (those identified as such) are former USAF generals, with the notorious airpower-only General Tony McPeak being chief among them.

We can expect most of the usual suspects on the Congressional committees, along with career staffers. Military advisors to those congresspeople (retired flag officers or detailed uniformed officers) will make a significant impact.

All of these people, from the President-elect to the most junior member of the appropriate congressional committee must, in a very rapid amount of time (by January 20th, 2009 is my metric) come up with an overarching global strategy that incorporates the military, diplomacy, economics, culture, information, and resistant to European/allied pressure to have the US do and pay for everything. Okay, I added that last part. Wishful thinking.

President Bush was forced to wait, and his strategy was to turn DOD into a truly corporate entity. 9/11 forced upon the US a new strategy. President-elect Obama does not have the luxury of waiting eight months.