THE DRONE WARS

During the George W. Bush administration, Democrats and anti-war groups derided enhanced interrogation techniques (EITs) and the detention facility at Guantanamo as inconsistent with American values and a recruiting tool for al-Qai’da. Far fewer of those critics decry the Obama administration’s killing of al-Qai’da terrorists, including American citizens, with drone strikes, despite the collateral damage that is far more detrimental to winning friends in the Islamic world.  (Read the full column at EWRoss.com)

Filed under: Terrorism, 9/11/2001, al-Qaeda, al-Qai’da, American citizens, American values, American warriors, anti-war groups, CIA, CIA director, collateral damage, counterinsurgency, counterterrorism, democrats, Department of Justice, detainees, drone strikes, drone wars, Ed Ross, EITs, enhanced interrogation techniques, ewross, Geneva Conventions, George W. Bush, George W. Bush administration, Guantanamo, high-value targets, hypocrisy, illegal enemy combatants, John Brennan, north vietnamese army, Osama Bin Laden, precision guided munitions, Presidency of George W. Bush, President Obama, republicans, SEAL Team 6, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, Taliban, U.S. criminal justice system, vietcong, Vietnam War, White Paper, world war II

KILLING QADDAFI

There’s an obvious difference between SEAL Team 6 putting a bullet in Osama Bin Laden’s head and Libyan rebels summarily executing Muammar Qaddafi after capturing him. Ample legal precedent supports killing illegal enemy combatants in time of war. There is no legal precedent, internationally or otherwise, for the summary execution of a captured Qaddafi, nor is it consistent with the “American values” we’ve heard so much about with regard to the George W. Bush administrations conduct of the war on terror. (More)

Filed under: Politics, Terrorism, American values, Anwar al-Awlaki, CIA Anwar al Awlaki, Colonel Qaddafi, drones, Ed Ross, EITs, enhanced interrogation techniques, ewross, George W. Bush, Hilllary Clinton, hypocrites, killing Qaddafi, Libya, Libyan, Libyan government, Libyan rebels, Muammar al-Gaddafi, Muammar Qaddafi, National Transitional Council, NATO, Osama Bin Laden, Pan Am Flight 103, precision guided munitions, President Obama, Qaddafi, Saddam Hussein, SEAL Team 6, Secretary of State, summary execution, UCMJ, Uniform Code of Military Justice, United Nations Human Rights Council, US Congress

REDUCING THE DOD BUREAUCRACY: Less is More

Secretary Robert Gates wants to make sweeping budget cuts in overhead at the Department of Defense (DoD). For starters, he has proposed eliminating Joint Forces Command (JFCOM) in Norfolk, Virginia, a 10 percent cut in contractors, the reduction of at least 50 generals and admirals, and the elimination of 150 Senior Executive Service (SES) civilians. I applaud Gates for his initiative. Not only will it save money for the needed modernization of weapons and equipment necessary to maintain our military capabilities, but it will make DoD more efficient and effective. (More)

Related Articles

• Officials: Belt-tightening will cut major command (sfgate.com)
• Scrapping the Defense Department CIO (informationweek.com)
• Secretary Of Defense Gates Announces Plan To Disestablish Joint Forces Command, Cut Civilian And Military Personnel (minx.cc)
• Gates Says Defense Bureaucracy Swollen, Declares Cuts (businessweek.com)
• Pentagon Cuts Come Under Fire (online.wsj.com)

Filed under: Healthcare, Military, National Security, Africa Command, bureaucratic politics, CIA, defense acuisition reform, defense budget, Defense Department, deficits, Department of Defense, DoD bureaucracy, DoD civilians, efficient and effective, fighting wars and deterring aggression, Government, grade creep, GS-14, GS-15, Horn of Africa, Joint Forces Command, less is more, Military, military capability, national defense, National Security Council, Norfolk Virginia, Parkinson's Law, personnel costs, precision guided munitions, Reagan administration, reorginization, Robert Gates, Senior Executive Service, stealthy bomber, United States, United States Department of Defense, United States government, United States Joint Forces Command