SPEAK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG STICK

Many years ago, Teddy Roosevelt pointed out that the best way to negotiate with foreign powers was to “speak softly and carry a big stick”.
It was that “big stick” that got JFK through the Cuban missile crises.  It was that “big stick” that convinced Iran to release the American hostages when Reagan was elected.  They knew Carter would never use force.

The big problem with Obama’s foreign policy is that he has all but destroyed the big stick, and is in the process of completely destroying it.  I am not saying we should try to be the world’s police, but we do need to maintain enough military power that our negotiations with foreign powers are taken seriously.   And we have made commitments to some of our allies to aid in their defense should it become necessary. 

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, provided his sobering views as part of the Quadrennial Defense Review, a congressionally mandated evaluation of U.S. military strength issued every four years.

Dempsey predicted that it would become increasingly difficult to balance the competing demands of protecting allies abroad, securing Americans at home and deterring future wars.

“The smaller and less capable military outlined in the QDR makes meeting these obligations more difficult,” he said. “Most of our platforms and equipment will be older, and our advantages in some domains will have eroded. Our loss of depth across the force could reduce our ability to intimidate opponents from escalating conflicts.”

Dempsey added: “Moreover, many of our most capable allies will lose key capabilities. The situation will be exacerbated given our current readiness concerns, which will worsen over the next three or four years.”

Dempsey issued his warnings as President Barack Obama sent Congress a 2015 budget for the entire government on Tuesday that provides the Pentagon just over $600 billion.

That’s $13 billion less than current funding, but $26 billion more than provided in a budget deal that Congress approved in December by large bipartisan majorities.

Dempsey lashed out at Congress for slashing defense funding over the last three years while preventing the Pentagon from shuttering unneeded military bases, retiring outdated weapons systems and taking other steps to save money.

“I urge Congress - again - to move quickly to implement difficult decisions and to remove limitations on our ability to make hard choices within the Department of Defense,” he said. “The changes required for institutional reform are unpleasant and unpopular, but we need our elected leaders to work with us to reduce excess infrastructure, slow the growth of military pay and compensation, and retire equipment that we do not need.”

SOURCE:         http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2014/03/04/220134/militarys-top-general-offers-grim.html#storylink=cpy