Beginning of the end?

Palin claims she can beat Obama in 2012.

November 17, 2010 5:07 PM
Palin: I could beat Obama in 2012
Posted by CBSNews.com staff

The GOP think they are the country, and we are only sorjournors here...

Don't worry; they will vote for unemployment... They want the unemployed to all drop dead... They just don't want to have to bury them all at once...

Those deprived of basic human needs will easily find a target for their anger.

Forced to choose between the recommendations of the U.S. military and the extreme views of Sens. Jon Kyl (R-AZ) and Jim DeMint (R-SC), enough Republican senators are going military to win Senate approval of the New START treaty this week.

The treaty makes modest reductions in the deployed long-range nuclear weapons of the United States and Russia, restores critical inspections and opens the way for greater global action on the key threats of Iran, North Korea and nuclear terrorism. It leaves both the U.S. and Russia with "more than enough" weapons, in the words of Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen. That would be 1550 hydrogen bombs each, or enough to destroy the world several times over.

But the opponents of the treaty claim it is unilateral disarmament and a "sell out" to the Russians. Their speeches are heavy with hyperbole, but short of credible military or expert support. As Sen. Kyl's arguments have gotten more extreme, key senators have quietly dropped their former deference to his leadership.

New START is backed by the entire US military leadership, including the heads of the Strategic Command and the Missile Defense Agency. Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz, head of Air Force Global Strike Command, said Friday, "The New START treaty ought be ratified and it ought to be ratified right away -- this week." He explained:

I think it's extraordinarily important that the two nations that posses the largest number of nuclear weapons in the world have a continuous, constant and substantive dialogue on issues related to nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons policy issues such as safety, security, command and control.

Trash Talking the Military

Opponents discount this support as just the brass "saluting" and following orders. Leaving aside that insult to the integrity of America's military commanders, how do they account for the near-unanimous support of former military leaders and cabinet officials?

All the former commanders of the Strategic Command support the treaty and seven of the eight signed a joint letter to the Senate urging its rapid approval. All living former secretaries of state back the pact, as does every former secretary of defense and national security advisor who has expressed an opinion. The majority of these former cabinet members are Republicans. The whole group represents the combined national security wisdom of seven presidential administrations going back to Richard Nixon's.

When asked Saturday on C-SPAN why all these conservatives support the treaty he opposes, Frank Gaffney, a former acting assistant secretary of defense, said cabinet officials were too busy to really understand the treaty. Leaving aside (again) that insult, there are scores of senior officials who also support the treaty. Almost all have had far more career experience with nuclear weapons than any of the key opponents. Lt. General Dirk Jameson, for example, is a leader of the new Consensus for American Security. He writes:

After more than 20 hearings and testimony from military and diplomatic officials that has seen more than 900 questions asked and answered, a strong bipartisan consensus has emerged on a simple point about the New START treaty: it makes America more safe.

I served in the nuclear arena of our national defense during and following the Cold War; I was the Deputy Commander in Chief and Chief of Staff of U.S. Strategic Command before retiring from the U.S. Air Force. Prior to this I commanded the 14,500 men and women of the U.S. 20th Air Force, and was responsible for all U.S. Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, seven major subordinate units, operational training, testing, security and readiness. I know about our nuclear security. It is out of this concern for the safety and security of the country that the Senate should promptly ratify New START.

it seems that US will undergo a terrible disaster due to it's arrogance