The Department of Defense is moving forces from Okinawa to Guam – all well and good. Except, the recently passed DOD Authorization contains funding for construction firms to pay their workers wages consistent with labor rates in Hawaii – 250% HIGHER than wages in Guam.

This will not only take over $10 billion (over 10 years) needed dollars out of the pockets of wounded service members, but will pad the pockets of Hawaii’s labor unions while hurting small businesses in Guam.

As we vote on funding for critical programs for our Nation’s Veterans and construction of our military instillations, it is important to ensure the timely and adequate delivery of these services.

This provision provides labor unions dollars, that in my opinion, are more crucial and can be better spent on military hospitals as they deliver first-class health care to our wounded soldiers.

U.S. supremacy is on the wane under President Obama, and Australia can no longer depend on its number one ally to protect it. That’s the assessment of the Rudd government, and it is taking steps to ensure that Australia can defend herself.

A white paper, Defending Australia In The Asia Pacific Century: Force 2030, outlines a range of possible security threats, including instability caused by the financial crisis, cyber warfare, failed states in the Pacific, Islamist terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, and other factors.

Although the document says the short-term chances of a direct attack on Australia are “very remote,” it warns that Australia must guarantee that it can protect itself in the midst of emerging powers in the region - particularly China, India and Russia - which could lead to a “miscalculation” with disturbing consequences for the Land Down Under.

Read More →

Late last night we asked “Is Obama preparing to cut the defense budget?” All we had to work with at the time were personal observations by some who had seen a Fox News report that the president had asked the Pentagon to slash defense spending by 10%. The story had not yet been posted on the FNC website at that late hour.

Read More →

Ace says he saw it on Fox News, but at this hour, there’s nothing about it on the FNC website. The best source Ace could find is the pay-per-view site InsideDefense.com NewsStand, the services of which I haven’t paid to view. But there’s been considerable speculation that Obama will make cuts in defense. In fact, he has promised to do so. If he intends to make good on his campaign rhetoric, then it’s just a question of when the cuts will come.

Read More →