Inhofe: Gates’ Defense Budget ‘Disarms America’ And ‘Cuts Funding For Our Troops In The Field’
Inhofe: Gates’ Defense Budget ‘Disarms America’ And ‘Cuts Funding For Our Troops In The Field’
In a YouTube video that is getting linked around the conservative blogosphere, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) attacked Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ 2010 defense budget recommendations, though he aimed his criticism at President Obama instead of Gates. Speaking from Afghanistan, Inhofe declared that “President Obama is disarming America. Never before has a president so ravaged the military at a time of war.”
Specifically, Inhofe charged Obama with cutting funding for “our troops in the field during an ongoing war”:
President Obama’s budget, the largest in the history of America, triples the public debt in 10 years, funding every welfare program imaginable, but cuts funding for our troops in the field during an ongoing war.
Here in Afghanistan, while the war is intensifying and the number of US forces increases at the direction of President Obama, he undercuts those he sends into harm’s way. It is not just unbelievable…it is unconscionable.
Watch it:
Needless to say, Inhofe’s over-the-top rhetoric about undercutting American soldiers in Afghanistan is ridiculous. As the New York Times notes, while Gates called for “deep cuts in many traditional weapons systems,” he added “new billions of dollars for others, along with more troops and new technology to fight the insurgencies in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
In his press conference announcing his budget plans, Gates notes that his reforms shift “resources and institutional weight towards supporting the current wars and other potential irregular campaigns.” Here are a few examples of the budget increases that will directly affect the troops in Afghanistan:
– An increase in “intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) support for the warfighter in the base budget by some $2 billion.”
– An additional “$500 million more in the base budget than last year to increase our capacity to field and sustain more helicopters – a capability that is in urgent demand in Afghanistan.”
– “To grow our special operations capabilities, we will increase personnel by more than 2,800 or five percent and will buy more special forces-optimized lift, mobility, and refueling aircraft.”
As Max Bergmann points out at Democracy Arsenal, “this budget represents a clear move toward a more balanced strategy and is a dramatic departure from the strategy of ‘transformation’ that the Bush administration blindly pushed under the leadership of Secretary Rumsfeld.” Additionally, the Gates budget never actually “cuts funding for our troops.” As Bergmann notes, “base spending on defense this year rose by more than $20 billion.”
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Inhofe: Gates’ Defense Budget ‘Disarms America’ And ‘Cuts Funding For Our Troops In The Field’
How could it? Gates was appointed by a Republican President.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:31 pmI move that we have all elected officials hooked up to lie-detectors when giving any public statements.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:35 pmInhofe: Gates’ Defense Budget ‘Disarms America’ And ‘Cuts Funding For Our Troops In The Field’
– - Inhofe went on to decry a military budget sorely lacking in funds for new 3-masted, 12-cannon frigates.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:36 pmGates/Obama defense budget INCREASES defense spending by more than 15 billion. He guts some bad programs, but overall an increase. So screw you liar.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:36 pmSomebody, please stick a sock in this git’s pie hole… my Lord, the GOOPers can barely take a breath these days w/out telling another lie or smearing someone.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:38 pmGOP reaction: The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
April 7th, 2009 at 1:40 pmHelp! Help! The sky is falling!
Its too bad that those birds flying over his head didnt have better aim!!!!
April 7th, 2009 at 1:40 pmInhofe is an ass pandering to all the gleefully ignorant Oklahomans. bush’s irresponsible tax cuts during war was evidently ok, but this ass will dig for criticism of Obama even if its factually wrong.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:41 pmGOP, lying, it’s what we do.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:41 pmAll that free money going to taxpayers my my. Yes the GOP got kick back checks for those contracts with chosen Contract companies and now it’s over. Now the Contractors might ask for their money back from the Law Makers as the deal didn’t go off as expected. Just think how made the GOP is now that Iraq wont get 2 billion dollars a month anymore and all that free money will end. President Obama has more enemies in the Republican Party then in the World. He’s safer out of the country then in the US with the Republican Mafia after him.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:41 pmThis is the republicons script in the Plute’s charade. The republicons are supposed to inculcate a message that Obama is cutting the military budget. But of course Obama is not cutting the military budget, in fact he is greatly increasing it (9% over Bush’s last budget). It’s all a lie.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:44 pmPresident Obama’s budget, the largest in the history of America, triples the public debt in 10 years,
I can understand why Republicans oppose this.
After all, Reagan is the all-time budget-tripling king ($907 B in 1980 to $3.2 T in 1990) and they don’t want to see his record toppled. Kinda like when Henry Aaron challenged Babe Ruth’s home run record.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:44 pmInhofe is deliberately misrepresenting what Gates has proposed – but that’s the repugniscum way — get your mug in front of the camera and appear to have character.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:45 pmThat kind of facade has worked for so many years, the old guys don’t know how else to operate, so they misrepresent and lie in order to score a few points with the base of die-hards to whom he appeals.
Of course Obama didn’t cut funding to the Military, per se. What he did was far worse… he cut funding to the special pork barrel project that the Republicans and their allies have lined their pockets with for years…
April 7th, 2009 at 1:46 pmInhofe and a good amount of the Republicans these days do not really function in a truth based reality do they?
April 7th, 2009 at 1:46 pmWhat a lying ass…
When Cheney was SecDef under Bush41, after the Soviets fell, he cut military bases, but only in Democrats’ districts.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:50 pmInhofe can’t be expected to remember back that far, what with GOP amnesia and all.
I think it’s highly significant that the first item in Gates’ budget recommendation focuses on improving conditions for the troops and their families, and acknowledges that major improvements need to be made.
Recommendations also include spending more on bomb-proof transportation.
Inhofe is a frickin’ liar and should be called out for it.
The Pentagon has successfully spread their defense contractors and subcontractors across the entire country, so that Congressmen from both parties will be scurrying to derail Gates’ plan and preserve local industry.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:50 pmThis is looking like one of those final nails in the GOP coffin to me!
April 7th, 2009 at 1:52 pmMr. Inhofe doesn’t give a shit about our service men. More likely he owns a ton of stock with many of the war machine manufacturers. His bottom line is taking a hit after eight years of unbridled success. That is all that is behind this story. Un-patriotic futher mucker.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:53 pmBold talk for someone who can’t count past ten with his shoes on.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:56 pmIs James Inhofe still in the Senate? I thought maybe he was in Bedlam, sharing a room with Michelle Bachmann.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:57 pmYeah, no more F-22s, but what about the Basselopes?
April 7th, 2009 at 1:57 pmTalk about melodrama.
Is Inhofe a big fan of soap operas, or is he really a spoiled adolescent trapped in an old redneck’s body?
He knows damn well Defense Spending will still increase, so this hissy fit just cements his repuation as a raving knee-jerk KOOK, more interested in partisan gamesmanship than dutiful representation of his constituents.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:57 pmWhat our troops in the field really want are politicians who won’t put them in harm’s way unless it is absolutely necessary.
Lying, deceitful, war mongering Republicans like George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Jim Inhofe are the greatest threat to our troops in the field.
April 7th, 2009 at 1:59 pmI get the distinct impression that the GNOP has adopted a new philosophy, which is:
Just because it’s false doesn’t make it untrue.
There is no logic or reason to their perception of logic and reason.
PEACE
April 7th, 2009 at 2:00 pmAmerica is addicted to being the big kid on the block. As a result we spend more than the rest of the world COMBINED on “defense”. Frankly, if China or Russia or Madagascar want to be the next big guy then let them. Let them bankrupt their economies trying to police the globe so we can have time rebuild our economy and infrastructure.
Its odd to think that before WWII we had the 18th largest military in the world and did quite well. We DON’T need a bigger military now than existed during the Cold War. Terrorism is minor nusance compared to the world-wide nuclear armaggendom that we faced after WW II.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:03 pmI say we hand him over immediately to the Taliban.
If he had any value, we could trade for him for Bin Laden.
Unfortunately, his only value is to the Republics; he’s one of their best liars.
‘No one in my family has ever been gay or divorced’. -Inhofe
April 7th, 2009 at 2:04 pmWasnt it Bush/Cheney sending our military to war without enough troops, and when they got there they werent given the proper body armor. Then one of their no bid contrators install showers that electricute our men and women overseas.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:10 pmNow their making up lies about where the funding is going to in our military. When will it end?
.
Shorter Inhofe: NEED MORE WAR!
.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:11 pmDems are definitely just as in this as Republicans are. Good article to read :http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0640476720090406
Ike Skelton will be a big player in this, and he commands respect on both sides the aisle. What is interesting about Gates’s proposal, and especially the timing of it, is that it puts on the plate the opportunity to revamp the contract procurement process (aka the military-industrial complex) which as that article eludes to, was originally to be called the military-congressional-industrial complex).
The Republicans always try to sound tough on defense, but this is pure hot air (and of course thats why lieberman is with them). But Tauscher,Gates, and others in the administration are increasing funding for systems/programs that have proven to work or have a need to develop.
Im sorry, but the Airborne Laser is stupid (right we are going to shoot a Russian Topol-M in northern siberia with a laser on a 747), the future combat systems, while they are technologies we should develop, are not combat ready for the most part, and the F-22 while very awesome, 187 of those bad boys could really take down any other airforce on their own. It therefore makes sense to boost spending for special forces units(2,800 more) in light of Afghanistan and patriot missile batteries to defend against the more real threat from N.Korea–its short range scud arsenal.
Will be very interesting to see what Congress does with this. May not be so Dem vs. Rep on the issue of defense spending.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:13 pmInhofe, you liar! From the LA Times:
April 7th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Sorry, OT before I go…
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7043
Red Cross Report: Medical Officers ‘Participated in Torture’
http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/04/red-cross-report-medical-officers-participated-in-torture/
April 7th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Inhofe is, by no means, well known as a critical thinker.
And what ever happened to the GOP meme that we had to listen to what the military leaders had to say?
Oh, we only listen to them if they say what we want them to say. What Max said at #30: The GOP wants MORE WARS!
April 7th, 2009 at 2:16 pmhea, Ms J,
April 7th, 2009 at 2:19 pmThere’s a killin’ to be had at makin’ war, NO?
Another interesting point about not enough troops. With Afghanistan now turning to be the main front as the spring offensives draw near, the increases in the special operations units will be key. We took the taliban out of afghanistan largely with Special Forces units, augmented by airpower, in conjunction with afghanis providing the majority of ground forces. I would not be suprised to see a return to something similar after this surge of US troops. Afterall, what is the endgame in afghanistan? That the taliban do not return to power?
These defense spending modifications push spending to address what is going on now, and get it over with and into a state we can manage. Hope congress can match the proposal gates is making
April 7th, 2009 at 2:20 pmI’m stunned actually…just IMAGINE what the outrage this would have caused had a Democrat done this video while on foreign soil with our country at war ???
Will somebody in Oklahome stop this moron in the next election?
April 7th, 2009 at 2:26 pmAnd when that budget eventually makes it way to the Sentate for a vote, Inhofe will vote GNOP.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:33 pmIt is about time we cut defense.
Our country spends 50% of our tax dollars on defense, more than any other country.
All other industrialized countries, instead of building bombs, provide a health care system for their people.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:35 pmThe full-page article I read in my newspaper this morning stated that the Pentagon will spend $1 Trillion to buy 2,443 ‘F-35 Lightning 2′ aircraft over the next 30 years.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:37 pmA lot of work was put into this story that means absolutely nothing……… Obama has not a clue what Gates has in his budget , never read it and probably never will. By the time congress gets done with it all this crap and hype will be unrecognizable …… you who read this story would be much better off mowing your yard or planting your garden.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:43 pmDon’t forget this is the same Big Oil-owned harpie who totally denies Climate Change, too.
Guess to stay in office in Oklahoma you have to be at least as stoo-pid as your constituents.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:49 pmThey should be beholden to penalty of perjury when giving statements on any issue related to public affairs as long as they are in office.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:52 pmThe article (NY Daily News – leans right) also stated that “Gates wants to cut his $534 billion budget and transform the military into a more intelligence-driven, elite counterterror force”.
Lockheed made out with those 2,443 jets. Other programs cut.
The only good thing I saw was they cut the ballistic missile defense program back a bit (15%).
I’m curious if the intelligence will be contracted out to private contractors. I believe that was the direction intelligence-gathering was going with Bush.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:53 pmHad enough: get your numbers right instead of going to retarded sites for the info. It is not 50%. Please read the below link any OBM document or CBO document on the matter–not a leftist ant-war blog site.
http://www.gao.gov/financial/fy2008/08stmt.pdf
Also, the other industrialized nations of the world live under the umbrella of the united states providing security. They do not have the same world perspective we do. Where you sit is where you stand. Europe had a genocide going on in their backyard (bosnia/kosovo) and they did nothing–the United States had to intervene. We spend more because we do more, because we are the only ones that do more. Our military also does more in disaster relief and aide than anyone else.
April 7th, 2009 at 2:54 pmballistic missile defense designed to counter anything from the LRBM-ICBM range is most likely not going to stop a missile. They boosted spending on Aegis, SSM and THADD systems, which is more realistic and does improve the capability and the security of the warfighter
April 7th, 2009 at 2:57 pmSlappy – no offense, but I think you’d be better off down at the OTB hustling old ladies, and Inhofe would be better off whittling a stick down at the feed store outside Enid.
April 7th, 2009 at 3:00 pmInhofe is one of the Parrots elected to Congress:
“Polly wants tax cuts”
“Democrats are anti-military, squawk”
He doesn’t need to understand, just speak.
April 7th, 2009 at 3:01 pm.
Dear thinkthinkthink,
That’s why we had our Iraq…
… Because we didn’t have enough going on?
.
April 7th, 2009 at 3:02 pmNo. And I never even eluded to anything like that. We had Iraq because misguided people exerted a radical political will and folded others into adopting a radical political view which was inserted into US foreign policy. Those same “leaders” used our military as the action arm of that radical view of the world which they believed was the view that best served US interests. That view, has hopefully run its course and will not reemerge with any signifficance ever again.
April 7th, 2009 at 3:12 pmI’m getting really tired of these people lying all the time.
I think Inhofe should apologize on air for his lies. But that sure won’t happen. Instead, the feeds will pick up his comments and most people will swallow it whole.
April 7th, 2009 at 3:13 pmLots of use of the word “view” there….didnt really go for eloquence there.
April 7th, 2009 at 3:13 pmYeah, Had Enough – if you want to know about Enron’s books, just ask their CFO, right Mr. 3thinks? The Company’s CFO knows all about the Company’s budgets, because that’s his job. If you doubt that, just ask the CEO – he’s the Boss, so he knows everything about everything. Just look at his awesome suit – bet it cost a lot.
And if you want to know how your investments are doing, just ask Mssrs. Madoff and Stanford – they’re like total experts on that stuff. They make tons of money out of smaller amounts of money, by being well-connected and wearing awesome suits, that I bet cost a lot.
April 7th, 2009 at 3:17 pm“alluded”, not “eluded”, Mr. 3thinks.
April 7th, 2009 at 3:18 pmTombaker: 1) Thank you for correcting my poor grammar
April 7th, 2009 at 3:24 pm2) I have no idea what youre talking about with regards to Enron, or the tone with which you’re trying to convey ….a point? You could probably make it more clear?
Tombaker: or I guess I would put it like this. Do you really think the Government Acountability Office, The COngressiona BUdget Office, and the Office of Business Management are somehow lying about the federal budget? Are you actually retarded? I am sorry, maybe you did not know what those acronyms stand for. Stop smoking your crack pipe. If I want to ask how much was spent on medicare/medicaid, I go see what the GAO says, not what the PAC MEDICARE FOR ALL says. SO if you want to make yourself out to sound less intelligent, make more of the enron comments, if you want to learn to make valid points based on facts, get an education.
There are more grammatical errors for you
April 7th, 2009 at 3:35 pm“Never before has a president so ravaged the military at a time of war.”
Even if Robert Gates’ proposed budget did indeed make cuts and reduced funds, the question is whether those funds were needed in the first place.
The US is not fighting conventional warfare in Afghanistan. Cutting, say, tanks and surface to air missiles out of the budget is unlikely to have any impact on the military effort in that country.
Inhofe. Yet another Republican Bible-thumping idiot.
April 7th, 2009 at 3:35 pmon behalf of everyone in Oklahoma I would like to apologize for this ridiculous man. I consider moving everyday because of people like this.
April 7th, 2009 at 3:51 pmObamas budget follows the Bush military increases, what Gates is reducing is defense overruns:
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The Pentagon is $295 billion over budget on dozens of key programs and taking more time to deliver the systems to the front lines, according to a report released by a government watchdog agency [GAO]
The cost overruns mean the Pentagon is spending just over $118 for every $100 it budgeted. [295 billion over budget]
April 7th, 2009 at 3:52 pmInhofe isnt concerned about the troops but getting money to the MIC.
Remember the lack of body armor under Rumsfeld?
April 7th, 2009 at 3:53 pmthinkthinkthink Says:
Had enough: get your numbers right instead of going to retarded sites for the info. It is not 50%. Please read the below link any OBM document or CBO document on the matter–not a leftist ant-war blog site.
Also, the other industrialized nations of the world live under the umbrella of the united states providing security.
I will stick to my numbers that 50% of our tax dollars goes to defense.
I glanced through your link, a multi page pdf booklet and found no actual break down of numbers… and written in the Bush years…. of course.
April 7th, 2009 at 3:54 pmMr 3 thinks,
Where is the break down of numbers from your link http://www.gao.gov/financial/fy2008/08stmt.pdf
Is it on the page that states:
Waiting for your reply.
April 7th, 2009 at 4:13 pmMr. 3thinks, substituting “elude” for “allude” is not a grammatical error. Any “educated person” knows that. Similarly disappointing is your apparent inability to parse metaphors. Those things, together with your parsimonious tone, lead the reader to conclusions that fatally undermine your position.
After years of hearing about cooked books and off-budget programs (and “supplemental” spending bills) concocted by our government-run-by-MBA’s, is it really such a stretch to liken certain agencies of the government to some of our “corporate citizens”?
April 7th, 2009 at 4:18 pmI’ll put it in simple layperson terms for you, Mr. 3thinks…
I would take the word of an independent auditor over the word of a employee auditor every time, provided both had equal access to the same set of data.
Over and above that, the only alarming thing about the “new DoD budget” is that it remains far higher than necessary, primarily because of the previous administration’s unnecessary and unplanned misadventures.
The “on-topic” bottom line on this thing is that Mr. Inhofe and others are exhibiting a hysterical and disproportionate, politically-calculated response to a perfectly reasonable budget, crafted by a SecDef appointed by whom?
Or am I to assume Mr. Inhofe and the others all stood up in opposition to Mr. Gates’ nomination?
April 7th, 2009 at 4:29 pmI am just sick to death of the lies being spewed by Republicans.
April 7th, 2009 at 4:42 pmJesus Christ, why can’t they just stop lying about everything?
They are like little children and it is exhausting me.
I knew it! Someone would start screaming that the world’s most powerful military is now weak and defenseless because of the cuts. It’s all so lame. Wish they would sit down and shuddup.
April 7th, 2009 at 5:07 pmthis site also gives a good break down in percentages of how ridiculously high our defense spending is compared to (1)how we take care of our people and (2) spending in defense compared to other countries.
It is about time more of our tax dollars went towards We the People rather than building more bombs and paying defense contractors.
18,000 to 40,000 Americans die each year due to no access of health care… not the elderly or disabled who receive medicare.
Why should we be the only industrialized country with no universal health care and at the same time spend more on defense than any other country?… all countries put together(?)
April 7th, 2009 at 5:33 pmInhofe, The Global Warming naysayer…..still has his head in the sand….Go figure~
April 7th, 2009 at 5:36 pmIt occurs to me that the followers of the Reichwing ideology have a perverse need to be lied too. If the poor fools ever managed to recognize reality? They would have no choice but to kill themselves.
April 7th, 2009 at 5:42 pmMr. 3 thinks
here is the break down I asked you for.
This is one of the sources used from this site to showing the public we do indeed spend over 50% of our tax dollars on defense.
April 7th, 2009 at 6:03 pmMr3 was all done as soon as his preposterous bluff was called…
…his wife better hope he stays away from the poker tables.
April 7th, 2009 at 6:04 pmMy dislike of Jim Inhofe takes a backseat to no one, but there is an actual old-school political motive going on here: The non line-of-sight cannon (NLOS-C), one of the “Future Weapons Systems” that Secretary Gates proposes to cut, has long been one of Inhofe’s favorites because he (and other Oklahoma congressional delegates) fought long and hard to have it built and tested right here in Oklahoma.
Inhofe’s unfavorables are high, even in Oklahoma, but he wins re-election because he ruthlessly and dishonestly (oh, yeah, he’s going to hell) demonizes his opponents, and he brings home the pork. Even in the Bush years, the DoD tried once or twice to kill the NLOS-C, and Inhofe always led the charge to protect it because it’s a huge win for his state.
I’m not saying he’s not evil, but if you’re going to game plan how to overcome his obstructionism, you need to consider the old-fashioned political angle as well.
April 7th, 2009 at 6:32 pmVote this fool, Inhofe, out!
April 7th, 2009 at 8:01 pmYou read the report about Sen. James Inhofe, and you realize the Republican play book is out and being followed closely. Considering what the last 8 yrs have been for the average guys in the Military, I would think that the senator would speak a little more lightly, the arrogance! I wonder if the bond between the GOP and the Military has been strained during the Bush years?????
April 7th, 2009 at 11:37 pmTombaker: no I was not all done. I have a job. Takes priority to the discussion on this blog. I completely 100% agree with your #65 post bottom line. Infhoe is stupid for what he said.
We are not any weaker due to these cuts, and if that one response was in response to somethign I said that is misconstruing my points.
had enough: Much of the defense spending does go to “we the people,”–only they wear a uniform and have families of their own. Its not all more bombs and high-tech gismos. A lot of it is barracks, family housing, education centers for children, rehibilitation facilities for the wounded, veteran facilities, etc.. Also, most “defense contractors” are not these blackwater types. They are consultants that are paid to fill government civilian jobs–it is not wasteful spending in those cases as it is a necessity and in some cases an improvement to government bureaucracy.
I think it is a travesty that we are the only industrialized nation without universal healthcare, but I also believe that we spend more through our defense budget because our military is engaged around the world, doing peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance, and yes fighting wars that have been costly and misguided–unfortunately. Other countries cannot assume the role we do in the world. How do we continue that role, and develop our own society is the question–gates is taking good steps to start trimming unnecessary programs and reallocating funds. He is not cutting spending though
Tombaker & Had enough: Also, I would look at this. No the United States does not spend 50% of its budget on defense. It does however spend more than all other industrialized nations combined. http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/budget/fy2008/pdf/hist.pdf see table 8.2. Tombaker, you should take it easy.
April 8th, 2009 at 3:52 pmthinkthinkthink Says:
Who says we need to continue this role? Do you REALLY think we do this to keep the world safe from pirates or Martians? We keep our fingers in the pie to control resources for our industries. The same reason we overthrow democracies and install military dictatorships like in Iran in 53, Guatemala in 54 The Dominican Republic and Brazil in 64 and Chile in 73. Also a huge portion of what we spend on the Pentagon is just a hidden subsidy to high tech industries. The Pentagon KNOWS this.
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April 18th, 2009 at 5:58 amsac ekimi