Vice ADM. says Obama "out maneuvered" by Russians on START Treaty

Maximus

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http://www.usni.org/vice-admiral-obama-was-outmaneuvered-russians-start

President Barack Obama was outmaneuvered by the Russians and should have abandoned the New START negotiations instead of seeking a political victory, says former nuclear plans monitor Vice Admiral Jerry Miller, USN (Ret).

“The Obama administration is continuing a dated policy in which we cannot even unilaterally reduce our own inventory of weapons and delivery systems without being on parity with the Russians,” Miller told the U.S. Naval Institute in Annapolis, Md. “We could give up plenty of deployed delivery systems and not adversely affect our national security one bit, but New START prohibits such action - so we are now stuck with some outmoded and useless elements in our nuke force.”

After meeting resistance from several Republicans, the U.S. Senate ratified the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia by a vote of 71-26 on Wednesday.

“The Soviets/Russians were done in by Reagan and our missile defense program because they cannot afford to build such a system,” said Miller. “They instead try to counter our program with rhetoric at the bargaining table. And they won by outmaneuvering Obama. START plays right into their hands.”

Former President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) is often credited with bankrupting the U.S.S.R. because the Soviets were unable to keep pace with the technology being developed by the United States.

“We have always been superior in quality of our nuclear force, so we did not have to negotiate with a party we do not trust,” said Miller. “If Obama wanted to save some money and improve national defense, he should have gotten out of the nuke negations and acted unilaterally. START is simply a political victory for Obama.”

Miller, who helped prepare the National Strategic Target List and Single Integrated Operational Plan for waging nuclear war and later participated in arms control meetings with the Soviet government, expressed concern that START could leave the United States vulnerable to other emerging threats.

“The treaty prohibits the conversion of an existing ballistic missile system into a missile defense system,” said Miller. “We might want to do that with a Trident or an ICBM sometime in the future, particularly if the Chinese alleged threat materializes.”
 
I would say if the President was 'out maneuvered', then the CJCS Admiral Mike Mullen was 'out maneuvered' as well.

A recent(?) trend is for retired generals and admirals to weigh in on their opinions on matters of national politics. They are not above seeking their 15 minutes of fame or making a quick buck.
 
I would say if the President was 'out maneuvered', then the CJCS Admiral Mike Mullen was 'out maneuvered' as well.

A recent(?) trend is for retired generals and admirals to weigh in on their opinions on matters of national politics. They are not above seeking their 15 minutes of fame or making a quick buck.

You mean like this?

etired Rear Adm. Alan Steinman entered the military in the 1970s well before DADT came on the scene in 1993. In that era the military asked new recruits if they were homosexual and actively worked to find and expel gays and lesbians.

Because he entered through the Public Health Service, Steinman did not have to directly lie about being gay. But he remembers he had to lie in other ways, like going on sham dates.

“As a single man they were always trying to fix you up,” he said. “Particularly as an eligible young doctor.”

Steinman served briefly as a flight surgeon in Kodiak in 1987. He went on to become the director of health and safety at Coast Guard headquarters, a flag officer position.

He retired from the Coast Guard in 1997 and publicly came out of the closet in 2003 on the 10th anniversary of DADT. He became a prominent advocate for overturning the law. As a former three-star officer, he is the highest-ranking former member of the U.S. military who is openly gay.

Steinman is now a cold water medicine consultant and lecturer in Washington state and serves on the board of the Service Members Legal Defense Network, an organization that advocates for people who have been affected by DADT.

He said he was encouraged by the results of last month’s Department of Defense study of gays and lesbians in the military, because he said it showed that service branches most exposed to gay and lesbian soldiers were least likely to object to allowing them to serve openly. He did not see the lower acceptance of gays and lesbians in the Marine Corps as a serious problem.

“The Marine Corps are a special case because the Marine Corps leadership has let it be known that they don’t want gays in the military,” he said. “They let their dislike of gay people be known publicly and the junior Marines pick up on that. When you’re a marine you follow orders, you follow your leaders.”

Coast Guard commandant Adm. Robert Papp testified to the Senate Committee on Armed Services alongside the other service chiefs earlier this month. He said implementing a repeal of DADT would be challenging, but within the abilities of the Coast Guard.



http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=9421
 
You mean like this?
Not following your reason for posting this at all. Are you saying that Adm Steinman is just following a trend to claim his 15 minutes of fame? Or are you somehow attempting to use a single conflicting example to discount JAM'S overall observation? Or did you mean to post it on the DADT thread where it is truly relevant?
 
I would say if the President was 'out maneuvered', then the CJCS Admiral Mike Mullen was 'out maneuvered' as well.

A recent(?) trend is for retired generals and admirals to weigh in on their opinions on matters of national politics. They are not above seeking their 15 minutes of fame or making a quick buck or political office.

The trend started with good old Wesley Clark :rolleyes: and in
similar fashion to some past Presidents over the last 10 years, and their weighing in on issues breaking the unwritten rules of Former President decorum.

As far as Mullen goes, he does what he's told to do.
 
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