A Hollow Military

Obama hates America. There are few areas where this is more apparent than in the condition of our nation's armed forces.

Forget about the longtime standard of a military capable of fighting two major wars simultaneously, which the United States abandoned four years ago. The current military would have trouble fighting one major conflict.

That is the assessment of some prominent defense experts, who contend the military has degraded to dangerous levels after eight years under President Obama.

“We have lost our edge,” said Daniel Goure, senior vice president of the Lexington Institute. “We are no longer technologically superior in a whole list of areas … This is a military that is on the brink of collapse.”

For years liberals have argued that America cannot be the world's policeman. But most other nations do not operate under the same guiding principles of freedom and personal liberty that America possesses. It is foolish to assume otherwise.

Throughout recorded history we are  reminded that powerful nations will extend their sphere of influence and crush those that oppose them. The only way that this oppression can be resisted is through the application of military power.

If and when our political leaders determine that we are not capable of resisting foreign influence, they will surrender our interests to please other nations. Under whose sphere of influence do you wish to live your life? China? Russia? Iran?

Our overwhelming superior military strength is what has kept us free. That freedom could be lost if our military becomes weak and ineffective, which is exactly what Obama's agenda is trying to accomplish.

“We are actually below peacetime levels,” said John Venable, a retired Air Force colonel who serves as a senior research fellow with The Heritage Foundation’s Center for National Defense. “But we’re actually fighting a war.”

This is the change that Obama promised.

• The Army needs 25 brigades to fight one major conflict. It has 31, but Venable said only 10 are “mission ready.” 

• The Navy had 272 ships, below its 308-ship goal, and Venable said only about a third of the vessels are ready for combat. 

• The Air Force needs 600 planes to fight one major conflict. Although the service currently has 1,159, Venable said less than half are ready for combat. 

• The Marine Cops has 23 battalions, more than the 13 needed to fight one major conflict, but the Heritage report estimates only half are ready.

Story here and more here.