Military

The memorial to Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed by architect Frank Gehry fails miserably to capture the essence of our 34^th president. Bruce Cole’s article “Doing Right by Ike” in a recent issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD makes this point, coupled with this indisputable plea: Let’s give Ike the memorial he deserves.

In a letter today in the Virginian-Pilot, Mitt Romney blasts President Obama for cutting the military: 

Welcome to Virginia, Mr. President! Home of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet, the fighters at Langley AFB,  the storied Marine Base at Quantico, tens of thousands of veterans from the Battle of Guadalcanal to the Battle of Fallujah, and countless other proud military units, factories, and bases, the Commonwealth is a proud state with a proud history.

Colorado's wildfire has exploded into an "epic firestorm," in the words of Colorado Springs fire chief Richard Brown. Over 30,000 people have evacuated, and already hundreds of homes have been consumed. Ironically, the U.S. Air Force Academy has also been evacuated, at the very time that Colorado desperately needs more Air Force C-130s to fight the massive fire.

Fred Barnes, with Juan Williams and Charles Krauthammer, last night on Fox News:

When it comes to the conflict in Afghanistan, Americans are war-weary. A Washington Post/ABC poll this spring found that two-thirds of those surveyed now believe that “the war in Afghanistan has not been worth fighting.” Nearly the same percentage in an April Pew poll wanted to “remove troops as soon as possible.” And this followed on the heels of a March CNN/ORC International survey that had 72 percent of its respondents saying they “oppose the U.S. war in Afghanistan.”

Max Boot wrote last year about a visit by a small group of us to Afghanistan in October. One of the most memorable parts of the trip was the day we spent with the 3rd Infantry Brigade, 10th Mountain Division:

A joint statement from the defending defense group at the American Enterprise Institute, the Foreign Policy Initiative, and the Heritage Foundation:

With the House of Representatives set to vote this month on a bill to reverse the trillion-dollar “sequestration” cuts to the military, Congressman Randy Forbes (R-Virginia) will be launching his “Defending Our Defenders” listening tour in Chesapeake, Virginia, on May 14, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.  Forbes, chair of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness, started the listening tour to help make the case to the American public that sequestration will have severe co

In speaking about U.S. defense, Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock told the Times of Northwest Indiana that “There's always going to be a lot of duplication. We look today at the historical setup of Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard. There's a lot of duplication and bureaucracy right there. In the 21st century, is that necessary? I'm not sure that it is.”

Earlier this week we wrote that the chairman of the Joints of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, had “provoked a public confrontation” with House Budget Committee leader Rep. Paul Ryan. It appeared that Dempsey had made a grievous error by claiming that Ryan had “called [the JCS], collectively, liars.”

Steve Hayes, with Mara Liasson and Charles Krauthammer, last night on Fox News:

House Armed Services Committee chairman Buck McKeon praised the Republican budget released earlier today in a statement. "Chairman Ryan has drafted a budget that puts us back on the path to prosperity," says McKeon. "His plan is full of tough choices, but I am pleased he recognizes that our men and women in uniform have paid for enough of those choices."