Jim Kouri
Obama releases nuclear stockpile report to media
By Jim Kouri
"Critics believe Obama is mimicking William Jefferson Clinton's well-known dislike for the military that led to his intentional neglect of his primary responsibility..."
The United States released newly declassified details about its nuclear stockpile today, including significant progress made in dismantling warheads, in an effort to promote transparency and help stem nuclear proliferation, according to a report by Donna Miles of the American Forces Press Service.
A senior defense official was quoted by Miles as saying the United States had 5,113 warheads in its nuclear weapons stockpile as of September 30, 2009.
That represents an 84 percent reduction from the end of fiscal 1967, when the U.S. nuclear arsenal was its largest, with 31,255 warheads, the official said. The current stockpile is 75 percent lower than when the Berlin Wall fell in late 1989, and the United States had 22,217 warheads.
While the members of the elite media may applaud the idea that such information is being released to the public, some national security experts believe it's not a good idea to announce to the world the number of weapons the U.S. possesses.
"For those who doubt that the United States will do its part on disarmament, this is our record, these are our commitments," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the U.N. conference on the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty today in New York. "And they send a clear, unmistakable message."
"Secretary Clinton should know quite a bit about cutting weapons stockpiles and military strength. Her husband created what came to be known as 'the peace dividend.' Which really was a drastic cut in America's defenses just prior to September 11, 2001," political strategist Mike Baker points out.
Critics believe Obama is mimicking William Jefferson Clinton's well-known dislike for the military that led to his intentional neglect of his primary responsibility: the protection of the American people. During the Clinton Administration, in less than three years, deployments for humanitarian missions increased while manpower decreased from 2.1 million to 1.6 million.
The decrease in armed forces was called "reinvention" of government. While telling Americans that Clinton was making deep cuts in the federal bureaucracy, the media failed to inform Americans exactly what part of that "bureaucracy" was being cut. It was the military who suffered the cuts in order to make Clinton a hero.
Of the 305,000 employees removed from the federal payroll, 286,000 (or 90%) were military cuts. The statistics for America's defense during the Clinton years reveal the true feelings of the administration toward those who served in the military. The Army was cut from 18 divisions to 12. The Navy was reduced from 546 ships to 380. Air Force flight squadrons were cut from 76 to a mere 50. There were reductions in tanks, armored vehicles, rocket launchers, special forces units, etc.
Obama and his Administration — filled with retreads from President Clinton's Administration — believes in allowing the United Nations and the European Union to dictate US defense policy and strategy. His faith in these two entities will result less protection for Americans.
© Jim Kouri
May 6, 2010
"Critics believe Obama is mimicking William Jefferson Clinton's well-known dislike for the military that led to his intentional neglect of his primary responsibility..."
The United States released newly declassified details about its nuclear stockpile today, including significant progress made in dismantling warheads, in an effort to promote transparency and help stem nuclear proliferation, according to a report by Donna Miles of the American Forces Press Service.
A senior defense official was quoted by Miles as saying the United States had 5,113 warheads in its nuclear weapons stockpile as of September 30, 2009.
That represents an 84 percent reduction from the end of fiscal 1967, when the U.S. nuclear arsenal was its largest, with 31,255 warheads, the official said. The current stockpile is 75 percent lower than when the Berlin Wall fell in late 1989, and the United States had 22,217 warheads.
While the members of the elite media may applaud the idea that such information is being released to the public, some national security experts believe it's not a good idea to announce to the world the number of weapons the U.S. possesses.
"For those who doubt that the United States will do its part on disarmament, this is our record, these are our commitments," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the U.N. conference on the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty today in New York. "And they send a clear, unmistakable message."
"Secretary Clinton should know quite a bit about cutting weapons stockpiles and military strength. Her husband created what came to be known as 'the peace dividend.' Which really was a drastic cut in America's defenses just prior to September 11, 2001," political strategist Mike Baker points out.
Critics believe Obama is mimicking William Jefferson Clinton's well-known dislike for the military that led to his intentional neglect of his primary responsibility: the protection of the American people. During the Clinton Administration, in less than three years, deployments for humanitarian missions increased while manpower decreased from 2.1 million to 1.6 million.
The decrease in armed forces was called "reinvention" of government. While telling Americans that Clinton was making deep cuts in the federal bureaucracy, the media failed to inform Americans exactly what part of that "bureaucracy" was being cut. It was the military who suffered the cuts in order to make Clinton a hero.
Of the 305,000 employees removed from the federal payroll, 286,000 (or 90%) were military cuts. The statistics for America's defense during the Clinton years reveal the true feelings of the administration toward those who served in the military. The Army was cut from 18 divisions to 12. The Navy was reduced from 546 ships to 380. Air Force flight squadrons were cut from 76 to a mere 50. There were reductions in tanks, armored vehicles, rocket launchers, special forces units, etc.
Obama and his Administration — filled with retreads from President Clinton's Administration — believes in allowing the United Nations and the European Union to dictate US defense policy and strategy. His faith in these two entities will result less protection for Americans.
© Jim Kouri
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