On Monday, the People’s Republic of China announced its defense spending level. [Recall that we are decreasing ours…and have adopted a strategy of emphasis on the Pacific.] What are the Chinese doing? They raised their defense spending by 11.2%. However, they said this was actually a decrease in the increase – last year they raised spending by 12.7% … and back in 2008, the increase was over 15%. These double digit increases in defense spending have been going on for almost two decades … and of course, this is just the “official” defense budget. It does not include acquisition of foreign weapons systems and other expenses. Last year the Administration estimated the real defense budget was 40-70% higher than the PRC released figures.
Secondly, Tom Friedman, editorial writer for the New York Times, published what I thought was an interesting piece – entitled “There Be Dragons.” It’s about the ongoing struggle in the Middle East. A quote from the piece to interest you:
“The Arab/Muslim awakening phase is over. Now we are deep into the counter-revolutionary phase, as the dead hands of the past try to strangle the future. I am ready to consider any ideas of how we in the West can help the forces of democracy and decency win. But, ultimately, this is their fight. They have to own it, and I just hope it doesn’t end — as it often does in the land of dragons — with extremists going all the way and the moderates just going away.”
You can find it at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/opinion/friedman-there-be-dragons.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=thomas%20friedman&st=cse
Finally, a while back, one of you sent me a link to an Air University Airpower Course … that is online and available for viewing by the public. I took a look at several of the lessons (they are all short videos) and found them to be very good. My congratulations to the Air University. You can find the course at this link: http://www.apc.maxwell.af.mil/main.htm
For your consideration.
Mike
Michael M. Dunn
President/CEO
Air Force Association
“The only thing more expensive than a first-rate Air Force is … a second-rate Air Force.” -- Senate staff member
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
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1 comment:
The main problem is the detached apathy of the American citizenry. We want "business as usual" and the comfortable assurances of our past as the dominant alpha male on the international scene. We must somehow come to recognize that our status is poised to change dramatically unless we take definitive and purposeful steps otherwise.
The supporting problem is that we have an ineffective captain at the tiller of our Ship of State who is either 1) An incompetent buffoon, or 2) A manipulative agent with an agenda seeking to transform our great Nation into a Utopian society of mindless serfs with an all-powerful government of elites deciding our every move.
In the case of 1), he must be removed. In the case of 2), he must be removed. But removal requires an understanding and empathy of the problem and the will to correct it. Lacking this, we will become yet another failed socialist society in the landfill of human history.
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