And Now Another Top Pentagon Official Has Just Spoken Out Strongly Against Obama Policy What’s going on in the top ranks of the U.S. military? Now that a second top general in as many days has expressed serious doubts about Obama administration policy, is some sort of concerted push-back developing in the Pentagon? Just yesterday, Monday, Western Journalism brought you the news about a four-star Marine Corps general warning that weak border security and immigration enforcement could lead to a massive influx of Ebola-stricken immigrants. Gen. John Kelly, head of the U.S. Southern Command, took the bold action of stepping up his public criticism of Obama administration policy. Now, another highly decorated military leader is taking a powerful verbal shot at the White House. The Army’s top general is questioning Obama’s plan to reduce the size of America’s ground-combat forces. Gen. Ray Odierno, the chief of staff of the Army, said Monday that the rise of Islamic State militants and Moscow’s moves in Eastern Europe demand a rethinking of plans for reduction in troop strength. Via the Wall Street Journal: The Army agreed – reluctantly — to cut the size of its force to 490,000 under the budget reductions originally approved in 2011. But as a result of subsequent White House-Congress spending battles and military budget reviews, Pentagon leaders said the Army has had to make plans to shrink even further, to 450,000 or even 420,000. The active-duty Army now has 510,000 members, though military leaders under the direction of President Obama’s Defense Secretary, Chuck Hagel, are working to shrink the force by deactivating brigades and forcing out mid-level officers. As Stars and Stripes reported in August: About 550 Army majors, including some serving in Afghanistan, will soon be told they have to leave the service by next spring as part of a budget-driven downsizing of the service. The decision to cut Army majors comes on the heels of a move to slash nearly 1,200 captains from the ranks. Army leaders were criticized at the time for giving 48 of them the bad news while they were deployed to Afghanistan. In January, 2012, Obama announced that he U.S. military will steadily shrink the Army and Marine Corps and reduce forces in Europe. Curiously, it is now top generals in both the Army and the Marine Corps who are publicly questioning the plans and policies of their Command-in-Chief. Read more at westernjournalism/now-another-top-pentagon-official-just-spoken-strongly-obama-policy/#kQHVepDIV0dI8QFe.99
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 10:30:00 +0000
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