Derek 2.0

That's a very astute point......With Canada, currently ~60-65% of the defense budget goes towards personal, as its a safe assumption, other Western professional forces spend a similar percentage point on personal.

And is why all USFK members are at, and have been, at one of the highest states of continual readiness among US forces for generations........likewise, it is why the Seventh fleet now, combined with the JMSDF, maintain continual BMD patrols in the Sea of Japan.......not to defend against Godzilla, Rodan, the Chinese and Mothra........but the threat posed by the North Koreans.

You mean my reply.......to another member? How does one define the scale and scope of a war, fought against an unknown enemy, some time in the future? Vague enough? From the USFK commander: I assume you still feel said ROK-US force is (and has been since 1953) there to defend against Chinese "influence"......and not the nut in the North

Right, very in-depth posts....... The "rest of the world" doesn't have an expectation to fight two wars and provide security throughout the World....... The US maintains the 8th army, with units along the DMZ, likewise the 3rd Marine Div in Japan, with prepositioned equipment along the Southern coast of the Korean peninsula, likewise the 7th Air Force in hardened shelters in central Korea, because of the Chinese??????

Of course, it was the Paul Martin Liberals that sought and received further combat operations in the South of Afghanistan.......well sending Canadian forces into further combat operations unprepared and under-equipped, a result of Liberal cuts in the 90s, and resulting in a disproportionate number of Canadian deaths and injuries from mines and IEDs........

What exactly did you analyze? You just dropped facts one could find from Google in 5 minutes..... Your claims are wholly unfounded and lacking in reality.........The after affects from the invasion of Iraq (To say nothing of a decade of counterinsurgency operations in Iraq and Afghanistan), and further compounded by sequestration cuts has rapidly put the United States military to lower readiness levels not seen since the Carter era, post-Vietnam doldrums..... As to South Korea.........The United States doesn't base a force comprised of Army, USAF, USN and USMC, larger then most nations armed forces, in South Korea proper and within the region (with prepositioned equipment and supplies in South Korea) because it is felt the South Koreans could beat the North on their own hook........

Yes, I know.......and more importantly, and likely with this case, a RAT. Clearly though, if all aircraft primary and emergency systems worked, all the time, their would never be crashes (absent 100% pilot error)

Your first post with your logic vacuum: Your provided "factoids"......where is the analysis? The Soviets/Russians had no requirement for a blue water force, but sea denial (force projection, for the Soviets, was handled by the army), likewise the Communist Chinese..........Presently, the Russians and Chinese have the ability to bring to bear a level of sea denial, likewise both have the ability to project regional force (as recently demonstrated by the Russians) with both of their armed forces.......... ......Hence the Americans still basing (and prepositioning) forces in Europe and Japan, likewise the Pacific pivot with expansion of forces on Guam and new basing rights in Western Australia. Yet NATO or the US Pacific allies, could not contend with Russia or China on their own........hence the before mentioned US force structure.......the Europeans required major US support to bomb Libya. The US would currently be hard pressed to fight two major, sustained wars, with North Korea and Iran, let alone Russia and China, with their present force structure.

....or maybe they lost electrical power.

So why did you bring up what the United States spends on defense? Have the Russians and Chinese gone somewhere? What about North Korea? What of instability within the Persian Gulf? The American defense mantra, for decades, has been to maintain a force structure capable of fighting two major wars, a policing action, well maintaining its worldwide security commitments simultaneously........hardly "overkill", and with recent force reductions, the current force structure could be considered understrength for such goals....

No, the Soviet strategy was to maintain the Communist puppet Government.......The West sought the draining of the swamp and nation building....... Soviet conscripts were motivated by three meals a day and a Chekist with a Tokarev........ The allocated Soviet resources to Afghanistan equaled those maintained in East Berlin.......in other words, a small portion of the former Soviet military........ ......Or kill the Taliban as it retreated into Pakistan seeking shelter and relief. But I agree to an extent, the West would have been far better off leaving the internal security of Afghanistan with the various tribal warlords and the Taliban if need be.......Nation building in the region, without a doubt was/is a failure without security. I've no doubt it will revert back once the West has left fully......of that I agree.

More on entitlements then defense.......that is what we're talking about no? National defense is the responsibility of the US Federal Government, but as indicated in the graphic above, has been superseded by spending priorities that have been historically the purview of the States........clearly the spending priorities of the United States developed "peers" (of which there isn't any) are neither here nor there..............But to jump into your logic vacuum, said "peers" have benefited for decades, directly and indirectly, from US defense spending and the security afforded by it......... But I still fail to see your disjointed point.........is it that the United States doesn't spend enough on welfare and too much on military hardware? If so, a novice OODA loop will show one is worthless without the other......even with the "other" being provided by the United States.

The change in the actual day-to-day running of Veterans Affairs occurred several months ago......Fantino being reshuffled is a direct result of the political theatre that is Ottawa, months away from a Federal election. I expect the "contentious issue" that is Veterans health, sans political lightning rod Fantino, will no longer be newsworthy, nor deserving the attention of the LPC and NDP......of which neither parties offered a concrete redress to the Veterans Charter in which they both supported.......

Clearly and more so than just a natural progression in technology, but adding capabilities to our own armed forces (as is the same for most of the other partners) that we've either never had or lost.

More with less is a clear reflection of the advancements afforded by technology.......someone has to pay for its development.

Exactly, well ensuring US worldwide military dominance.....

Sure, and facts also indicate the US Federal Government spends more on entitlements........so, whats your point?

I did read your post, that was what I was responding to......so who was libeled?

Who have I slandered libeled?

Hey, no need to bring facts into a good rant!!!

Truth be told, I too didn't finish the article.....on going to do so, saw mention that the author was President Carter's speechwriter.......what was telling near the end more so for myself, was his criticism of President Obama for not fixing the "problems" beholden over the Pentagon......clearly the transdimensional, illuminati controlled lizards from within the military-industrial complex have President Obama on the take I hear the black choppers, so best to get into my anti-FEMA/UN/NAU bunker now

About two thirds down, but is typical Pierre Sprey (The guy that said the F-15 Eagle, M1 Abrams tank and AH-64 Apache etc would also be failures) inspired rant, implying in a round about way, that the United States's future requirements could be met by an A-10 warthog....... Namely though its a piece revisiting the atypical "swords to ploughshares crowds" warnings of the Military-industrial complex inspired boogeymen, behind every closed door with envelopes of cash, found within the capital cities of the Western World........

I understood they did receive clearance.........none the less, if that was their airspeed, they very likely stalled.......IIRC, with the Air France flight that was lost in the Atlantic about 10 years ago, it was determined the aircraft had either a faulty or damaged pitot tube, causing incorrect airspeed being relayed to the crew/ FMGEC.......increase in altitude and blamo.

Name calling? Are you seeking an adult discussion on the topic? (rhetorical question)

Not the least, my "anger" is over the political theatre brought about by the Opposition parties.