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DeM Banter: wondering how this will end...and where we will be in 5-10 years... Hanford (CA) Sentinel August 10, 2013 Military Update In late 1970s, the U.S. military was almost a “hollow force,” the Joint Chiefs said at the time, in part because of low pay, housing allowances set far below off-base rents and anemic …
Continue reading "Defense To Hill: Slow Comp Or Watch Readiness Fall By Tom Philpott"
DeM Banter: I'm a simple man...but there are a couple big things at play here--first there is this internal issue in the US where we want it all to just go away... so we keep saying it has. The enemy always has a say in any conflict, just because WE say the war is over--doesn't …
Continue reading "How Al Qaeda Made Its Comeback By Ali Soufan (w/DeMarco Banter)"
DeM Banter: not being anything close to an expert...but wouldn't it seem this is cyclical? Didn't Al Qaeda attempt and fail at a NYC bombing in 1993 and then proceed with bombings on Khobar Towers (June 1996)(Although Al-Qaeda has been described by some sources as the likely culprit, the official June 25, 1996 statement by …
Continue reading "Have The Terrorists Won? By Doyle McManus"
DeM Banter: Spot on... we are trying to apply old Industrial Age Warfare paradigms and rules to a new Information Age Enemy--we are better than that. This enemy does not rely on the old style of C2--they are patient and will morph as only a "leaderless organization" can. Many experts feel we are on AQ 4.0 at …
Continue reading "Adapting To Terrorism 2.0 By Juan Zarate and Thomas Sanderson"
DeM Banter: This from the same author of "Military Entitlements Are Killing Readiness"...yes, I can see the difference, but we have serious issues due to a lack of thought, strategy, and now funding...but we have been caught in a strategic drift for quite some time now...this is nothing new, but now the funding has caught …
DeM Banter: similar thoughts on the blog at the link below...it's all about Blood and Treasure. Wall Street Journal August 5, 2013 Pg. 12 Military "entitlements" aren't what's hurting military readiness; military pay and benefits are hardly generous. Regarding Mackenzie Eaglen and Michael O'Hanlon's "Military Entitlements Are Killing Readiness" (op-ed, July 26): We veterans, who …
Continue reading "It Isn’t Military ‘Entitlements’ That Kill Readiness: Letters to the Editors"
DeM Banter: Interesting we say..."The deaths of Osama bin Laden and other top al Qaeda officials in Pakistan has fueled U.S. confidence that al Qaeda's core leadership can't mount attacks on the U.S. and that U.S. drone strikes there could be phased out over time. " I wonder what model of leadership we are using …
DeM Banter: Whew...came by this through a strange web... working on notes for a class this AM--notes that were passed via Andy Christiansen...from a class taught by John Woodall....who mentioned the concept of "Choosing to Cheat." A quick Google search finds an article on Stanley's message by John Maxwell...hummm.... it's all connected. So do you …
Continue reading "Choosing to Cheat: Thoughts by Andy Stanley, written by John Maxwell"
DeM Banter: Haven't we seen this show before...I believe it was an early to mid-1990s sit-com. We would all have a specialized regions--that did not go so well when one region demanded all our attention. It does look darn nice on paper though. Further, recruiting and retention is not an issue now that the economy …
Continue reading "Army Chief Of Staff: Leaner Military Will Have More Expertise By Walter Pincus"
DeM Banter: So is it better to be engaged early? Or later? To watch...or engage? Right now...there are no good options... so did we miss our opportunity or was there never an opportunity. Interesting times.... Wall Street Journal July 30, 2013 Pg. 4 Capital Journal The Middle East has a tendency to eat up American …
Continue reading "Few Good Choices For U.S. In Mideast By Gerald F. Seib"
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