Mullen & Gates v. McCain

 

Admiral Mike Mullen and Sec. of Defense Robert Gates give John McCain a serious slap down during the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" hearing.

MULLEN: It is true that as chairman I am not in charge that I am not in charge of troops, but I have commanded three ships, a carrier battle group and two fleets. I was most recently a service chief myself.

MULLEN: For more than forty years, I have made decisions affected and even risked the lives of young men and women. You don't have to agree with me on this issue, but don't think for one moment that I haven't carefully considered the impact of the advice I give on those who will have to live with the decisions that that advice informs. I would not recommend repeal of this law if I did not believe in my soul that it was the right thing to do for our military, or nation and for our collective honor.

Gates was even harsher.

GATES: And with respect to polling the services... I didn't spend a career in the military, but I read a lot of history. I can't think of a single precedent in American history of doing a referendum of the American armed forces on a policy issue. Are you gonna ask them if they want 15 month tours? You gonna ask them if they want to be part of the surge in Iraq? That's not the way our civilian-led military has ever worked in our entire history.

McCain previously said he would support the recommendations of military leaders. Now that military leader are publicly saying it is time to repeal DADT McCain want to poll service members. Unfortunately for McCain, the poll is not in his favor. 70 percent of military personal polled in the DAT survey support repeal.

McCain then rejects the DADT didn't survey numbers. Accept the numbers that helps McCain make his case.

McCain expressed an "alarming" concern over the 12 percent of troops who said they'd leave the military earlier than planned if the repeal is imposed - a number that climbs as high as 32 percent among Marines.

The hypocrisy. McCain can't claim the 70 percent approval number for repeal is wrong and then express shock that 12 percent would leave the military if repeal takes place. For the record: the survey polled 400,000 military personal and has a 1 percent margin of error.

McCain was once treated with respect by military officials. In 2010, Mullen and Gate mock McCain in front of the Armed Services Committee. McCain has really fallen.

Talking Points Memo has a rundown of the shifting rationales of Republican senators for not supporting a repeal of DADT. I have have more respect for these senators if they just said they were scared shitless of the Christian Right.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Graham, a close friend of McCain's, made a similar argument, saying, "We should be listening, not dictating."

Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA)

Chambliss said that, based on the survey, more than 250,000 servicemembers would leave the military if the ban were repealed. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, however, said that the survey also shows that those who serve alongside a gay troops are much more open to repeal and, therefore, experience with gay colleagues would drop that number significantly.

"If I believed that a quarter of a million people would leave the military immediately if given the opportunity, I would certainly have second thoughts about that," he said. "But I don't believe that."

Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL)

And, finally, Sessions (R-AL) argued that the debate itself has already damaged troop readiness and morale, and that Don't Ask, Don't Tell has served the military just fine.

Obama Has No Afghanistan Strategy

Another example of why President Obama is not a policy wonk or takes policy seriously: special adviser Richard Holbrooke announced that the United States has no exit strategy for Afghanistan.

"We do not have an exit strategy but a transition strategy," Holbrooke said, adding that "2014 is not the end of international presence in Afghanistan (but) to be sure there will be some drawdown (of troops) in July next year. The size and pace will be decided by the president."

Translation: the Obama administration is winging this. Last year, Robert Gibbs told Chip Reid of CBS News that the 2011 withdrawal date was "locked" in. Gibbs' statement contradicted those of Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and Sec. of Defense Robert Gates. Both said that their offices had made no plans for withdawal in 2011. Bob Woodward reported that General David Petraeus has refused to provide President Obama with an exit strategy for Afghanistan. Obama could have fired Petraeus for insubordination. Obama chose political safety over firing a General who undermined his own policy.

We now know the the 2011 date is not "locked" in. Obama's promise of Afghan police and military ready to fend for themselves by 2011 was pure fantasy. Obama has never adequately addressed what is the mission in Afghanistan. Reports indicate al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden have moved to Pakistan.

During the election, Obama hinted at sending in troops into Pakistan. With the expection of special forces and predator drones; Obama has not given any indication of using full military manpower to invade al-Qaeda strongholds in Pakistan.

In 2009, military contractors outnumbered troops in Afghanistan. Phillip Carter and Paul Glastris wrote a highly controversial article in The Washington Monthly making the case to reinstitute the draft.

But there's a deeper problem, one that any president who chose to invade a country the size of Iraq would have faced. In short, America's all-volunteer military simply cannot deploy and sustain enough troops to succeed in places like Iraq while still deterring threats elsewhere in the world. Simply adding more soldiers to the active duty force, as some are now suggesting, may sound like a good solution. But it's not, for sound operational and pragmatic reasons. America doesn't need a bigger standing army; it needs a deep bench of trained soldiers held in reserve who can be mobilized to handle the unpredictable but unevitable wars and humanitarian interventions of the future. And while there are several ways for an all-volunteer force can create some extra surge capacity, all of them are limited.

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have made it more difficult to retain and recruit soldiers. This is why the United States has relied heavily on contractors. These military contractors do not report to the military chain of command have endangered U.S. troops and civilians. Obama will keep using contractors because he knows the draft would be highly unpopular with the American public.

Obama's Afghanistan policy has nothing to do with defeating al-Qaeda or killing Osama bin Laden. Obama isn't willing to institute a policy that would remove troops from Afghanistan or defeat the al-Qaeda network in Pakistan. Obama is looking for a solution that will cause him the least amount of political pain. Unfortunately, brave men and women will die because Obama is more concerned with being elected for a second term.

No Deadline For Afghanistan Withdrawal

Sec. of Defense Robert Gates and Sec. of State Hillary Clinton told Bob Schieffer there is no absolute deadline to pull troops out of Afghanistan. Gates and Clinton do their best to spin. The fact is President Barack Obama said troops will start pulling out in July of 2011.

But taken together, these additional American and international troops will allow us to accelerate handing over responsibility to Afghan forces, and allow us to begin the transfer of our forces out of Afghanistan in July of 2011. Just as we have done in Iraq, we will execute this transition responsibly, taking into account conditions on the ground. We'll continue to advise and assist Afghanistan's security forces to ensure that they can succeed over the long haul. But it will be clear to the Afghan government -- and, more importantly, to the Afghan people -- that they will ultimately be responsible for their own country.

White House Press Sec. Robert Gibbs told CBS News Chip Reid the july 2001 deadline was locked in. Troops would be coming home at the deadline. Clinton and Gates are publicly stating there is no guarantee of U.S. military personal coming back at that time.

SCHIEFFER: But Mr. Secretary, is there a deadline or is there not?

GATES: There isn’t a deadline. What we have is a specific date on which we will begin transferring responsibility for security district by district, province by province in Afghanistan to the Afghans. The process of that and the subsequent thinning of our forces will take place over a period of time and will happen and will be done based on conditions on the ground. And the decision on that will be made by our commanders in the field.

Clinton told Schieffer troops will come home based "on conditions on the ground."

SCHIEFFER: But does that mean, Madame Secretary, that American forces will still be there as we start… That they’re not going to start bringing the troops home? That we’ll just begin handing over responsibility?

CLINTON: No, it means that as we assess the conditions on the ground we will be transferring responsibility to the Afghans. And depending on the assessment at the time, that means some of our troops can begin coming home. I think that…

SCHIEFFER: Can begin coming home?

CLINTON: Absolutely, can begin coming home.

SCHIEFFER: But not will begin coming home?

The Obama administration is starting to sound like the Bush administration. I have been hawkish on Afghanistan and was hoping for an increase in Special Forces missions into Pakistan to hunt down al-Qaeda. There is no talk about capturing or killing Osama bin Laden or destroying al-Qaeda in their Pakistan hiding places. (Or wherever the hell they are.) Obama is esculating a war with a fantasy of President Karzai's corrupt government being able to create military and police forces. Karzai wants America in Afghanistan forever. The moment America leaves his corrupt regime will leave.

Obama is playing centrist politics with Afghanistan. He doesn't want to be accused of being weak by Republicans. Obama also wants to keep the anti-war Democratic base happy with a deadline. The only thing Obama has successfully done is piss off both sides. This is cynical politics at it's worse.

The Afghanistan Question

MSNBC reports Sec. of Defense Robert Gates gave President Barack Obama General Stanley McChrystal's request for 40,000 additional troops in Afghanistan, before it was vetted NATO, General Petraeus and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Gates wanted Obama to read the request before the story was dominating the news cycle. My question is who leaked the request?

We know the White House was unhappy with Gen. McChrystal publicly stating the need for more troops at International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. There is no question McChrystal broke protocol. There may have been good reason. Obama met McChrystal was he was appointed the top military leader in Afghanistan. Obama did not meet McChrystal again until after the speech and leak. Did McChrystal or one of his officers leak the troop request because they felt Obama was ignoring Afghanistan?

Relations between Gen. McChrystal and the White House are in shambles. If Gen. McChrystal fails to deliver results the White House will make him own the Afghanistan policy.

I understand why Obama is being deliberate with Afghanistan. There is no margin for error. Is Obama intent on policy of solely hunting al-Qaeda or nation building? The White House has been silent on the rigged elections. The White President has recognized Hamid Karzai as the victor. Obama would be in denial if he believed Afghanistan could one day be a vibrant democracy.

The Left doesn't want an addition of 40,000 troops. Training Afghans to fight under the Karzai government would be a disaster. Karzai does not have the support of the people and has never shown the ability to govern. Karzai would flee the country and al-Qaeda would once again have Afghanistan as a safe haven. The Right has focused on Iraq. The Right hasn't bothered to learn Afghanistan's history or what is going on in the country. How many times have you heard Bill Kristol press the Afghanistan issue during the Bush years. The solutions to Afghanistan (if there is a solution) are outside the spectrum of political ideology.

Obama Has No Plans To End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

Pentagon spokesperson Geoff Morrell confirms President Barack Obama has no plans to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

"I do not believe there are any plans under way in this building for some expected, but not articulated, anticipation that don’t ask-don’t tell will be repealed."

Morrell told the media the Obama administration has not asked the Pentagon to scrap "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The President has discussed the policy with Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen.

"They're aware of where the president wants to go on this issue, but I don't think that there is any sense of any immediate developments in the offing on efforts to repeal don't ask-don't tell," Morrell said.

General David H. Petraeus ducked a question on "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" during a public Q & A session.

The question was for the well-known "surge architect's" opinion on whether service personnel should be allowed to be openly gay, questioning whether the current "don’t ask, don’t tell” policy negatively affects unit cohesion.

“First of all, I’ve spent most of my career stepping around minefields, not into them,” he said, to general laughter. “We have an awful lot on our plate right now (with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan). I’m not sure we want to add something else to our plate right now.”

Integration of the military was achieved by Harry Truman signing Executive Order 9981.

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion or national origin. This policy shall be put into effect as rapidly as possible, having due regard to the time required to effectuate any necessary changes without impairing efficiency or morale.

Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara issued Defense Directive 5120.36 The directive ended racial discrimation in the military illegal. Congress was not responsible for ending military racial discrimation. Obama has two legal precedents. The Commander-in-Chief has the power to end "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." The issue is the President's lack of political courage. Personally, I don't think Obama cares about gay rights.

Related: Joel Award: Robert Gibbs

Gitmo to Close

Remember this gem from Glenn Reynolds yesterday.

OBAMA IS BACKTRACKING ON CLOSING GUANTANAMO BAY any time soon. Apparently he’s concluded that it’s not as easy as it sounded back during the campaign.

The Associated Press reports President-elect Barack Obama will close Guantanamo Bay the first week of his administration. Obama will use an executive order to issue the closing of the detainee facility.

My take continues to be Obama is committed to closing Guantanamo Bay. Obama sees Gitmo as a political and civil liberties disaster. Sec. of Defense Robert Gates lobbied to close Gitmo since 2007. Gates has a President-elect that will allow him to implement his policy.

Glenn Greenwald is upset Obama isn't closing Guantanamo Bay the first day of the administration.

As Talk Left's Jeralyn Merritt documents, Obama today rather clearly stated that he will not close Guantanamo in the first 100 days of his presidency. He recited the standard Jack Goldsmith/Brookings Institution condescending excuse that closing Guantanamo is "more difficult than people realize." Specifically, Obama argued, we cannot release detainees whom we're unable to convict in a court of law because the evidence against them is "tainted" as a result of our having tortured them, and therefore need some new system -- most likely a so-called new "national security court" -- that "relaxes" due process safeguards so that we can continue to imprison people indefinitely even though we're unable to obtain an actual conviction in an actual court of law.

There is no question many innocent men were sold to the CIA by Afghan tribal lords and Pakistani officials. Corrupt men sold other men to the CIA for quick cash. That doesn't mean Gitmo doesn't have dangerous terrorists. Obama can't release these men. Prosecution is difficult because of confessions given under torture. Greenwald too easy dismisses the dilemma facing Obama.

Greenwald knows Obama appointed Dawn Johnsen to the Office of Legal Counsel. Greenwald called the appointment "may be Obama's best yet." Johnsen wrote a Slate op-ed condemning the OLC authorizing the White House to use torture in interrogations.

I want to second Dahlia's frustration with those who don't see the newly released Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) torture memo as a big deal. Where is the outrage, the public outcry?! The shockingly flawed content of this memo, the deficient processes that led to its issuance, the horrific acts it encouraged, the fact that it was kept secret for years and that the Bush administration continues to withhold other memos like it--all demand our outrage.

Obama is surrounding himself with people against torture. What Greenwald and Jeralyn Merritt want Obama to be confrontational. That is not Obama's style. Obama will never be John Conyers or Howard Dean. Obama will use popularism to pass his agenda. That is how he got elected. That is how he will govern and it will drive progressives crazy.

Obama Unveils National Security Team

The Obama transition team has been unable to plug leaks about the cabinet appointments. President-elect Barack Obama held a press conference today announcing his national security team.

Sec. of Defence

Robert Gates

Sec. of State

Hillary Clinton

Attorney General

Eric Holder

National Security Advisor

Gen. James Jones

United Nations Ambassador

Susan Rice

Sec. of Homeland Security

Janet Napolitano

Republican Senator Richard Lugar has voiced his approval of Obama's handling of his national security team.

“Well it's the team of rivals theme I suspect, which President-elect Obama has decided to strengthen his security team by having Democrats, Republicans, likewise having people even within the Democratic party that opposed him and certainly over the long vigorous campaign,” said Senator Lugar.

Lugar says he's impressed with Obama's organizational skills, showcased in the Presidential election. And says Obama has a good track record.

Obama introducing his national security team.



Hillary Clinton statement.



Robert Gates statement.

The O-List

The New Republic compiled a list of thirty people that fill most influence Barack Obama's first term.

David Axelrod
Rahm Emanuel
Valerie Jarrett
Tom Daschle
Larry Summers
General David Petraeus
Joe Biden
Robert Gibbs
David Plouffe

Not mention is the next Sec. of Defense. The short list is current Sec. of Defense Robert Gates, Richard Danzig, John Hamre, Jack Reed and Chuck Hagel. Danzig publicly endorsed Gates for the job. Reports are that Obama won't initiate defense budget cuts in the first 18 months.

"Obama has apparently agreed with his defense [advisers] that he will not cut the DoD budget within his first 18 months in office," Morgan Stanley defense analysts wrote in a post-election report.

U.S. forces will not be out of Iraq by 2010. Obama plans on putting more troops into Afghanistan. That leaves little room for budget cuts.

Gates or Hagel would fulfill Obama's promise of appoint Republicans to cabinet positions. Reports are Joe Biden and Sec. of State candidate Bill Richardson are friends of Hagel. Hagel is a foreign policy realist. His bashing of Sarah Palin's (lack of) foreign policy experience endeared him to the campaign. Hagel said he would have considered being Obama's running mate. The question is can Hagel manage the Defense Department beaurocacy?

John Hamre is the the Chairman of Center for Strategic & International Studies. The bipartisan military and foreign policy think tank was created during the cold war. Hamre served as Deputy Secretary of Defense during the Clinton administration. He is currently serving on the Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee.

Hamre is a Sam Nunn prodigy. He served under Nunn during the Gulf War vote. He is fiscally conservative with defense dollars. Nunn served on the CSIS Board of Trustees.

Hamre is a Clintonite and has foreign policy views that could mesh well with Obama's. Hamre's anti-Vietnam war past could place doubt in his ability to serve as Defense Secretary.

Jack Reed is a former Army Ranger and West Point graduate. Reed is a member of the Committee on Armed Services. Reed is the safest pick on Obama's short list.

I would go with Reed as Sec of State and Richard Danzig as Deputy Secretary of Defense. Don't be surprised if Obama picks Hagel.

Tampa, Florida Woman Raped By KBR Employees

The Blotter reports an unidentified woman has been raped by by KBR employees in Ramadi, Iraq. Senator Bill Nelson's web site reports two woman from Houston and Tampa as rape victims. Nelson wrote a letter to Sec. of Defense Robert Gates.

I am deeply troubled by recent reports that at least two women who worked in Iraq under contractors for the Department of Defense were sexually assaulted by male
coworkers. Both women have filed lawsuits partly because they feel the criminal justice system has failed them.

I am enclosing a recent press report suggesting that in a 2005 case involving a Texas woman the U.S. Army turned a rape kit over to private security officers rather than to the proper authorities. In addition, the alleged victim in that case published a journal on the Internet suggesting that many other women have been raped in Iraq.

The Inspector General should immediately launch an investigation that thoroughly examines: 1) whether and why the results of the examination in question were turned over to a private company; 2) whether and how many other rape examinations were performed by military doctors in Iraq; and, 3) what steps the Department of Defense
has taken, in conjunction with victims and the Departments of State and Justice, to ensure the full investigation and prosecution of these cases under all applicable U.S. laws.

We need to know that there is a thorough and vigorous investigation of any and
all of these cases. I also would appreciate a detailed briefing on the Department of
Defense's role in investigating, prosecuting and resolving any such cases.

Surely the Defense Department is not going to use the lack of internet access as an excuse for not being aware of Jamie Leigh Jones's diary. With this administration it wouldn't shock me.

Nelson wrote another letter to Attorney General Michael Mukasey.

1) Is it true that a Dallas U.S. Attorney has been investigating the case?

2) Is it true that NCIS conducted it's own investigationof this case?

a. If so, when did NCIS make its findings available to the
Department?

b. Are you aware of any other investigation of the Florida woman's allegations by any other entity, such as the State Department or Halliburton/KBR or one of its subsidiaries?

d. Have you instructed NCIS or any other agency that has conducted an investigation to withhold any reports that they have prepared from being released publicly, or have you instructed them to desist from conducting their own investigation?

3) Is the Department of Justice aware of any other allegations of sexual assault reported by women who worked for government contractors in Iraq?

a. If so, is the Department conducting a more Wide-ranging investigation?

b. What type of coordination has taken place among the Departments
of Justice, State and Defense regarding any investigation into the
various allegations of sexual assault that have been made?

"What type of coordination" is the wrong question. Rape caees need to be prosecuted immediately. The only DNA sample from Jones's rape that match was from a man using her bed. Kellogg Brown and Root were never legally forced to submit samples. Two years have past. The fact that the Justice Department and Pentagon have been these cases to rest says much about their collective commitment.

Blackwater Is On the Outs

The investigation into Blackwater is unearthing (unsurprising and) disturbing new information.

The colonel was furious. "Can you believe it? They actually drew their weapons on U.S. soldiers." He was describing a 2006 car accident, in which an SUV full of Blackwater operatives had crashed into a U.S. ArmyHumvee on a street in Baghdad's Green Zone. The colonel, who was involved in a follow-up investigation and spoke on the condition he not be named, said the Blackwater guards disarmed the U.S. Army soldiers and made them lie on the ground at gunpoint until they could disentangle the SUV. His account was confirmed by the head of another private security company. Asked to address this and other allegations in this story.

The State Department has stonewalled the FBI. An October 11, 2007 New York Times article reports that the FBI and Iraqi police have not been allowed to talk to Blackwater. The FBI has been asking the Iraqis for information because their own government has not cooperated.

The U.S. military investigators have been given the same treatment.

The senior U.S. military officer said the State Department has also refused to provide details of its ongoing investigation. “We have asked questions,” the officer said. “They have not responded back on those.”

Two Blackwater employees smuggled weapons into Iraq. No one knows who bought the weapons. It is disturbing to think that taxpaid contractors are very likely arming insurgents.

There is the disturbing video of Blackwater shooting at random motorists for no justifiable reason.


Blackwater Shoot People For Sport - Click here for more free videos

Robert Gates is pushing to have Blackwater removed from Iraq. What is sad is there shouldn't even be a debate. The Iraqi people and U.S. military have both had negative experiences with Blackwater. No one likes them. There is the issue of who will provide security for diplomats. The Bush administration constantly told the American public that the Iraq venture could be done on the cheap. Now diplomats are shitting themselves because they may have reservists providing protection.

What kind of deal can the Bush administration cut with the Iraqi government that can keep Blackwater in the country? The President isn't going to threaten to leave Iraq. Prime Minister El Maliki would lose what little credibility he has with Iraqis if he caved to the White House. Bush has never understood that one does not make a democracy by pissing off the country's population.

Alberto Gonzales Hearts Guantánamo Bay

Robert Gates argued to President Bush that Guantánamo Bay was hurting the United State's in the war on terrorism and the military tribunal trials would be viewed as illegal. The Geneva Convention hater quickly nixed that idea.

Mr. Gates’s arguments were rejected after Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and some other government lawyers expressed strong objections to moving detainees to the United States, a stance that was backed by the office of Vice President Dick Cheney, administration officials said.

There is still a (small) chance Guantánamo Bay will be closed. It all hinged on Gonzo's future.

“Let’s see what happens to Gonzales,” that official said, referring to speculation that Mr. Gonzales will be forced to step down, or at least is significantly weakened, because of the political uproar over the dismissal of United States attorneys. “I suspect this one isn’t over yet.”

The continues policy of torture and suspension of habeas corpus biggest backer is Gonzales. Forget him resigning. Gonzo needs to be disbarred.