Is this really a good time to cut back our military?

(My new American Thinker post)

According to news reports, the US military will be cut dramatically:  

"Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has proposed shrinking the Army to its smallest size in 74 years through a series of base closures and troops cuts, and by completely eliminating several Air Force aircraft fleets.    
The move comes as the U.S. Army moves into the final phases of a massive troop withdrawal from Afghanistan, and Congress raises new red flags about American deficit spending.    
Hagel surprised some observers on Monday when he outlined a global military philosophy that removed America from the center of its universe.   
'The development and proliferation of more advanced military technology of other nations - it means that we are entering an era where American dominance on the seas, in the skies, and space can no longer be taken for granted,' Hagel said.    
'As a consequence of large budget cuts, our future force will assume additional risks in some areas,' he added.    
That sets the table for a coming congressional battle over what to keep and what to toss out."   

To be fair, we need to reevaluate our military from time to time.  We need to understand that future wars are more likely to look like Afghanistan or targeted missions against terrorist cells than D-Day or the Tokyo bombing raids.

However, I oppose these cuts because they will confirm that the US is in retreat. 

This is the wrong message when we have China rising and sending its warships around.   

It is also the wrong message for President Putin, North Korea, Iran and other enemies of the US, as my friend Bill Katz posted today.

Question:  What happened 74 years ago when we had this size of a military?  It was 1940 and we should remember what happened after that.  We had to rush to build our forces because we weren't ready for world challenges!

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

Popular Politics Internet Radio with Silvio Canto Jr on BlogTalkRadio

---

Tags: US military  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

The Rangers did the right thing in extending Washington to 2015

The Rangers settled a big pending issue by giving Washington an extension, as reported by T R Sullivan:

"General manager Jon Daniels said there was never any question in his mind about Ron Washington being the Rangers manager beyond 2014. Now the Rangers have backed that belief with the symbolic gesture of a contract extension.

The Rangers announced Monday that Washington has been given a one-year contract extension through 2015. Washington's contract was set to expire after this upcoming season but Daniels was ready to continue what he calls a "partnership" that is entering its eighth season.

"We feel as strongly as we ever have about Wash and we expect that to continue for a long time," Daniels said at a late-afternoon press conference Monday. "He's a big part of who we are and what we are all about and is everything you would want in a leader."

Washington has been the Rangers manager since 2007 with a record of 611-524 and a winning percentage of .538. It's the most wins and highest winning percentage of any Rangers manager in history. It is also the fourth-most wins by a Major League manager since 2007.

Under Washington's leadership, the Rangers went to the World Series in 2010 for the first time in club history before losing to the Giants in five games. They repeated again in 2011 but lost to the Cardinals in seven games."

This is a good move because Washington has earned it.  He's the most successful manager in team history.

---

Tags: Ron Washington  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!