US Commander in Korea warns against budget cuts
While the Koreas were exchanging artillery rounds, General Curtis Scaparrotti, the US commander in Korea was warning the House Armed Services Committee that their planned cuts to the force would make it very difficult to respond to any overt military operation from NDtBF. From Stars & Stripes;
The U.S. has maintained a permanent force level of 28,500 troops in South Korea for years, and added another 800 in January with the deployment of a rotational Army battalion to the peninsula.
Scaparrotti said his forces are prepared to counter a North Korean attack, but he’s concerned about the readiness of follow-on forces that would be required in any prolonged fight. He warned about the impact of further budget cuts on the U.S. military’s ability to fight a major ground war with the North.
“If we were to reduce our Army force size based on the [projected] sequestration [levels of 420,000] … we would probably be challenged in terms of maintaining a long-duration conflict or one that included stability operations for some time thereafter,” he told members of the committee.
Of course, the Obama Administration is hoping for a conflict before the midterm elections that would cost us a lot of lives of servicemen (and hopefully service women) so they can blame the Republican Congress once again, you know like they did for the government shutdown – because it apparently doesn’t matter how many lives it costs as long as the Democrats retain the Senate and pick up the House. Democrats uber alles!
Category: Big Army, North Korea
Plus when we’re alive, service members and vets vote Republican at something like a 70-80% rate. Once we’re dead, we’ll vote for whoever ACORN says we vote for.
“…because it apparently doesn’t matter how many lives it costs as long as the Democrats retain the Senate and pick up the House.”
Actually, I’m guardedly optimistic that Conservatives will retain the House and regain the Senate. Not that it will really matter to the imperial president, who’ll do what he wants through executive order.
Hmmm…hopefully he won’t get sacked like Gen. Singlaub did by President Carter.
Beretverde I was thinking the same thing. This could have been a “career decision” on his part for speaking out as he did.
Well finally a GO who has the intestinal fortitude to speak up and not pipe down. His career is probably finished.
GEN Scaparrotti should be OK…its not like Barry can just replace him (not w/o a long tedious Senate nomination/confirmation process anyway).