Mr President, Sir;
Let us take the power back and gain control of our budget now. We can see the terrible human cost as well as the Billions wastefully spent in war. Let us learn from the efforts to colonize the world by the Dutch, French, Spanish, British, Portuguese, Germans and Russians. Reduce the US Military Footprint overseas so that we can realize government control of our budget. The same waste can be seen in our bloated prison industry and War on Drugs.
1) Reduce battlefield contracts in Iraq
2) Reduce Iraq to a Small Police Action of 20,000 troops
3) Remain steady in Afghanistan and look for force multipliers, and State Department solutions
4) Legalize Marijuana to stop US Dollars that enrich and drive the drug gangs
5) Free prisoners that can possibly be seen as users and not traffickers
6) Find ways to help young males have pride and hope for the future instead of being convicted felons
7) Let us realize that making war and sustaining war is far more harmful than smoking pot or so other consensual crime where no one is hurt
8) Let us take taxes from legal drug sales like alcohol, marijuana and tobacco and do good things with healthcare and education
9) Let's assess the true cost of war in a very public way
Sincerely
----Last Weeks Letters----
Mr President, Sir;
It is a new day. Mexico is at WAR! And we must reassess our National Security Objectives and Operational Plans. We need to Reassess our Defense Plans and where we are spending our Homeland Resources.
I have to add this to my National Security Objectives below to the #4 Priority. If you saw the New york Times today, then you are also reflecting that we haven't had a War on our border for like 80 years (Mexican Civil War 1910-28?). Clearly our country is now at an increased DEFCON (Defense Condition) as a Result of instability, chaos, and war in Mexico. Likely we would call it an insurgent war by drug gangs, rather than a Civil War. But why doesn't the media realize this is an immanent threat?
Mexico is tearing it self apart because government institution are afraid of the "Drug Gang Violence".
Of course many Americans have been waiting for a reason to pull US Troops back to our borders. And some will be thinking that Tom Clancy anticipated that Islamic Terrorists befriending Drug Dealers to draw the war back from Iraq to our shores or within the USA.
Clearly if we can strengthen our borders, it will meet National Security Goals by repelling "Foreign" drug gangs and drug trafficking. "Let us not spend a fortune overseas on foreign adventures (like Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam)" against stateless insurgents. We NOW have insurgents on our border!
------Previous Post-----
President Obama;
The Budget being a central piece to the US Economic and National Security Strategy, I wanted to present a Template for viewing some of our possible Expenses:
1) Scratch any Action for Occupying Force Overseas of 200,000 or more Troops (It is not part of the Quadrennial Defense Review or any Military Plan anyway.
2) Scratch any Planning for Large Police Action overseas involving 100,000 troops or more. In the Long Term is not sustainable and we know the Logistics Tail with Civilians and Contractors is a Trillion Dollar Enterprise (an unthinkable Expense at this time when we need budget dollars in infrastructure).
3) Scratch any Planning for Medium Sized Police Action overseas involving 50,000 to 100,000 troops. We know that in the Long Term this is not sustainable past a few years, since this also involves huge Expense of half a Trillion Dollars and a long Logistics Tail with Civilians and Contractors.
4) Small Sized Police Actions Overseas are sustainable over the Long Term, because we are looking at 20,000 Troops with some support from the Navy and a modest Logistic System which repairs equipment in the USA where US Wages are paid. The army LOGCAP contracts for Base Support would be affordable in the Millions of Dollars. A clear objective would be mandatory to any Small Police Action and would be key to any exit strategy. Also these small military actions can be run simultaneously.
5) Clearly the world expects us to use the State Department and Embassy Resources in the next decade to avoid new conflicts. State Department budget is pretty much a sunk overhead cost of running a government. So there is no real Additional Expense.
National Security Objectives:
1) Economic Stability for the USA and for the World. Clear threats are Financial Transactions and Instruments as well as popular unrest from loss of livelihood and savings.
2) Energy Stability
3) The presence of Freedom and Individual Rights in North America and Central America. Freedom is derived from Social Education, Social Medicine, and a healthy Economy.
4) Global Drug Lords will grow in power as they are able to hold on to distribution networks and make retail sales in the USA and Europe. We need a new approach here as we can not measure any real or lasting success. Perhaps if we can not seal the borders (drug shipments) then we must consider legalizing Marijuana to cut off some of the funds of the Drug lords/Gangs.
5) Big Business and Lobbyist pull on Washington DC does not seem to produce any measurable "Good". Clearly we agree that money is a persuader and a corrupter, but it doesn't write good laws. And how can we tolerate lobbies from foreign countries - When the common man doesn't have access to a like minded Representative in DC.
6) The SEC Staffing is very low. I remember a few years back hearing that the SEC had only 200 working manyears (active employee).
7) Credit Card Interest Rates above 18%.
------Pasted----from my first Essay-----
Clearly President Obama should distance himself from Republicans and move away from Bipartisanship. The present system is very confused by the old status quo.
1) you have the wasteful meetings and speeches from the Republican side who just want to push back, fight, and make the democrats lose the next election. Well also I think they want to continue all of the old policies of free markets with no Regulation by the FED, they want to enjoy the fruits of lobbying, they want to continue to be in bed with big business (no matter the cost in taxes or civil rights), just so that they can be part of the big deals and feel like they have power. (okay the Dems must be feeling this too at times- power corrupts!).
2) Lobbyists from all over the globe want to right the next set of rules and sway both the President and Congress/Senate.
3) When was the last time you saw change in the Republican Party? Some guy was on CNN again saying that the Republican Party was re-crafting it image or "Core Values" If you are like me what comes to mind is the McCarthy Doctrine (McCarthy Purges?), or the Bush Doctrine, or the Neo Con Doctrine.
4) Please, the Budget is the Number One Issue. We have created a Prison Industry and Defense Industry that are both making people millionaires and Billionaires at a cost of Trillions of US Tax Payer Dollars.
5) The Defense Department is the gift that keeps "Taking". After a Trillion dollars in Iraq and Afghanistan there is no end in sight. And by a strange convenience no one is talking about the Trillion of Dollars it will take to bring back the Armed Forces and over the next 7 Years bring all the equipment back to Peacetime state of readiness.
6) Now lets go back to the "War on Drugs" which can not show any success measured by our American Youths or by our Prison Enrollment. We have spent at least a Trillion Dollars in the war on drugs...we should include US State Department freebies in terms of Grants, and Loans to Mexico and South America.
Summary: We should have the right metrics in mind when we look at Government Program SUCCESS. We can't continue American Status Quo...in politics...in Lobbying, in Body Count, in having the best Military force deployed to far a way lands...and in terms of Arrests and Imprisonments. We have to measure success in terms of moving from the status quo of interference with Federal Government (Lobby & Political Quagmire).
- Implement - Implement - Implement
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We have nothing to fear but ourselves...How about promoting the best News Media Sources like on PBS, or from Europe ...outside the US Franchise.
