Felix Camacho, governor of Guam, expressed concerns over the Guam military men and their living standards with the proposed increase of military troops and construction. (0:31)

 

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Congressman John P. Murtha (D-PA), chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, discussed the five years of violence in Iraq after President Bush declared “Mission Accomplished” in 2003, in a discussion at the Center for American Progress today.

Murtha talked about the wars in Vietnam, Lebanon, Beirut and Somalia and compared them to the current situation in Iraq. Similar to the military actions taken in those countries, in Iraq the U.S. went in without an exact strategy, the mission remained undefined and the U.S. military ended up becoming nation builders without a clear exit strategy.

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The House Armed Services Committee Strategic Forces Subcommittee held a hearing to examine the fiscal year 2009 National Defense Authorization Budget Request of Missile Defense Programs.

Witnesses from high ranking Defense positions fielded questions about the budget request, including Air Force Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). Obering talked about how the budget ensures America will not only continue to have strong short term military capabilities, but will protect us in the “long term as well.”

Obering said the budget request by President Bush for missile defense programs is “extremely modest” in comparison to what it does for our country. Obering mentioned that he hopes the military’s success in doing things with missiles like shooting down satellites continue while still being “operationally affordable” in coming years.

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Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, testifying at the House Armed Services Committee, answers a question from ranking member Duncan Hunter about what grade he would give the Justice Department, Agriculture Department and the Trade Commission. (1:09)

 

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Secretary of Defense Robert Gates testifying before the House Armed Services Committee says that supporting U.S. allies can help these countires to confront threats and prevent U.S. military involvement. (0:44)

 

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This afternoon the Senate Armed Services Committee gave strong recommendations to Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen after interrogating them through questioning. Senator Carl Levin, perhaps the most diligent and pressing in his questions, was profoundly concerned about the amount of money being spent and that will be spent on Iraq in the future. It was the view of multiple senators that Iraq needs to be paying for far more and that they are using the US as a crutch.

“The Iraqi forces will shoulder more of the burden as we reduce our forces over time,” says Gates. He continued to discuss Iraq’s economic and legislative successes as of recent. But he goes on to say, “just as there is real progress to report, there are also substantial reasons to be cautious.”

There is also a deep concern about the large drug industry in Afghanistan and that the large amounts of money being transferred from drug trade may be going toward weaponry purchases which end up being used against US and coalition forces.

As senators continued to ask pressing questions, Gates and Mullen had most answers, but at times they were rather different that what the senators would have preferred to hear. It’s evident that the senators are looking for a different direction than where the war is going.

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In response to my question, “So what’s going to constitute a victory?”, Congressman Geoff Davis (R-KY) says the ideal scenario is a stable Iraq that is governed by the rule of law. He says as an obligation to those with whom he served, we’ve got to make sure they’ve got all the support they need, and their voices are heard on the Hill. It’s important that if we say we support the troops, that we listen to what they say from the ground. It would be a “tragedy of generational proportions” to consign our military to defeat, when they believe they can bring stability in this. (1:09)

 

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Congressman Geoff Davis (R-KY) says he is acutely aware of the stress on the force [the military] and his hope and confidence is that this is continuing to move in a direction of recovery and at the end of the day, we’ll maintain our strategic interests in the region. (0:24)

 

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Congressman J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) says he thinks that it’s difficult to tell what absolute victory is, but victory is when the Iraqis can create an Iraq that is capable to provide their own stability. We can very easily define what defeat looks like, he says, and that’s to put our men and women on ships and bring them home prematurely and lose all we have gained. (0:44)

 

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Congressman J. Randy Forbes (R-VA) says that he thinks across the globe there is a lot of competition with the United States, and there are a lot of countries that are anti-American. They work very hard at creating a negative image of the United States, and we have an anchor of truth around our necks. For example, he says, in the hearing I attended to today, a protester in a costume stood up and every camera took a picture. Sitting behind General Petraeus were six men and women in uniform, and if you looked at their stories in each of their lives, there is courage, commitment, and sacrifice that would make us proud. If one of them gets up, none of their stories will be told. What is public opinion across this country? They never see the greatness of those men and women sitting behind General Petraeus. What most of the world sees is not a true representation of America. (2:14)

 

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