WashingtonPrism Blog

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America's Defense Meltdown

Wed, 25 Feb 2009 17:33:009 MST

Washington D.C. A rapidly shrinking, aging and increasingly expensive American military, which is unequipped to carry out real-life combat missions, is the worrying scenario presented in Americas Defense Meltdown, a recently published book that contains the results of a survey of the U.S. armed forces conducted by thirteen Pentagon insiders. Winslow Wheeler, Thomas Christie and Pierre Sprey, three of the authors, discussed the decades-long, and continuing, deterioration of Americas defenses at a book launch organized in Washington D.C. by five not-for-profit organizations active in defense-related issues: The Fund for Constitutional Government, the Center for Defense Information (CDI), the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), Taxpayers for Common Sense and the Institute for Policy Studies.

According to official data from the Department of Defense (DoD), the U.S. military budget (in inflation-adjusted dollars) is higher today than it was during the wars in Korea and Vietnam and during Ronald Reagans presidency, which was heavy on defense spending. Today, the U.S. military budget approximates that of the rest of the world, noted Winslow Wheeler, and it is about three times as large as those of China, Russia, Cuba, Iran and North Korea combined Americas potential short and long-term enemies. However, in terms of the size of forces, numbers are down from the past, even considering Iraq and Afghanistan. This is true for Army divisions, Navy combatant ships, and Air Force tactical wings; despite steady growth, figures suggest, the defense budget is capable of buying only a decreasing number of weapons systems. As a result, the forces are aging. While in the 1980s the average age of an American fighter aircraft was around 10 years, today it is between 15 and 20 years, and growing.

Thomas Christie, who has five decades of experience in defense acquisition, weapon testing and program evaluation, and who retired as the Pentagons most senior career civilian official in 2005, depicted a fouled DoD planning and budget process based on a series of flawed assumptions. For example, one assumption has been that future budgets will grow at a faster rate than the past or that weapon system procurement costs will decrease in the future. These constant misinterpretations of budget cycles lead, according to Christie, to the approval of programs that are unattainable in reality, with subsequent delays and ballooning costs. As a result, for example, the Air Force ended up with a dwindling fighter force because it banked on a higher modernization line than what it could have reasonably expected. According to Christie the problem is not in the acquisition process per se, but rather in the way defense managers have been using it. We have had enough acquisition reform; we need no more acquisition reform. We need to take this process we have and make it work better, Christie argued.

The end of an improbable road, and the beginning of a historic tenure

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:56:013 MST

Washington Prism

Washington D.C. If Barack Obamas rise to become the 44th President of the United States was meant to prove that a government of the people, by the people and for the people has not perished from this Earth, as the President himself notably pronounced in his victory speech of November 4th, the crowd gathered in Washington D.C. for his inauguration was a testimony to just how much the American people have come to believe in his promise.
In front of an emotional crowd of excited spectators estimated in well over a million people -- President Obama took his oath of office Tuesday, on the steps of the Capitol, laying his left hand on the same bible that Abraham Lincoln the man who pushed for the abolition of slavery used in 1861. Leaders of the House and the Senate sat behind him, alongside the new Presidents family, former President George W. Bush with Mrs. Laura Bush, and a variety of celebrities of different ilk. Aretha Franklin sang, Yo-Yo Ma the famed cellist performed, and the Reverend Rick Warren gave a heartfelt invocation. President Obama avoided soaring rhetoric and chose a somber tone for his inaugural address, dedicated to calling the nation to serve and to begin again the work of remaking America.
The ceremony was not dissimilar to inaugurations past, but instead the day was made special by the presence of citizens of all ages and race, who had traveled to Washington D.C. from all over the country. They laughed, they cried, they waved tiny American flags in the air, and they braved many discomforts to seize their own piece of history as the first African-American president was sworn into office.

The Improbable Journey of Barack Obama

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:24:008 MST

Washington Prism

Chicago, Illinois The improbable political journey of Barack Obama, son of a man from Kenya and a woman from Kansas, began in the far South Side of Chicago, in the mid-1980s. Obama came to Altgeld Garden from New York City to work as a community organizer a fact the junior Senator from Illinois often liked to quote during his long presidential campaign. In this forgotten project ridden with unemployment and crime, he helped set up a job training program and a tenants' rights organization.

Altgeld Garden comprises a few blocks of modest single-family homes and low-rise apartment buildings at the southern edge of Chicago, a public housing development stuck on the side of Bishop Ford Freeway. A solitary enclave separated from the rest of the city by Lake Calumet to the East, railway tracks to the North, and major thoroughfares all around, Altgeld Garden remains a place where outsiders dont like to visit and even the police rarely ventures into. We havent seen a taxi here in thirty years, said resident Derrick White pointing to the few yellow cabs parked on East 131st Street on Election Day. Those taxis drove here curious journalists most of them foreign and the only non-African Americans around.

Despite high unemployment, health issues related to air pollution caused by industries nearby, and another automobile plant -- a Ford factory -- soon to shut down, on Election Day the mood in Altgeld Garden was joyful. A burgundy-colored Toyota SUV parked by the curb played loud hip-hop music as a group of young people chatted loudly about the election, looking almost like they were waiting for one of their own to be elected President of the United States.

Mr. White, a man in his forties wearing black sweat pants an old white t-shirt and a black bandana on his head, works as a custodian at a nearby high school and is active in the local chapter of the Service Employees International Union.

He remembers Obama only after Obamas campaign for the U.S. Senate of 2004, during which White worked the polls for him. Surprisingly, many residents here dont seem to recall much of the years when Obama was a member of the Illinois Legislature, let alone the Senators history prior to that. I thought from the start that he was a very intelligent man, White claimed, but I didnt think he was going to come this far this quickly. He hopes that President Obama will fix the economy and heal the racial wounds that have plagued this country since its founding: There are no jobs here, people dont have health-care. You should go to the county hospital, they started charging for service, he explained.

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Chicago Prepares for Celebrations

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 14:15:022 MST

Washington Prism

Chicago, Illinois The sun is shining in Chicago today and with temperatures in the 70s this could be the warmest Election Day since 1964. With the tops down, drivers took their convertibles out for a ride in the morning and are driving around town while an endless stream of runners jog along Lake Michigan on the eastern edge of the city.

Chicago residents are also flocking to polling places and voting operations seem to be running smoothly in spite of the high turnout.

Even during early morning rush hour, lines were kept under control with waiting times that never exceeded the one-hour mark. In this democratic stronghold most voters are casting their ballots for Barack Obama.

There is anticipation in the air and the city waits impatiently for tonights returns. I voted for Obama, says Paul Walker, If it had taken seven hours, it wouldnt matter; Id still be in line. I hope he wins. While this service industry worker speaks, a woman passes him by and shouts, Obama! Hes the only one.

Keep Virginia Red

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 19:36:014 MST

Keep Virginia Red

Washington Prism

Woodbridge, VA Lodged in a non-descript strip-mall in suburban Virginia, L & B Pizzeria and Sports Bar was in full capacity on Wednesday night prior to the final presidential debate between candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. By 8 P.M., as other businesses were closing down L & B remained the only speck of light overlooking an otherwise deserted parking lot.

The Republican Committee of Prince William County was having a watch party for the last Presidential debate between the two candidates and, from early on, republican supporters from the neighborhood flocked to this Italian-American pizzeria. They bought memorabilia from the McCain/Palin campaign and took their seats at one of the light wooden booths; blue and red balloons reached up to the ceiling.

The nearly 50-odd people aged fifty and above, were on a mission -- cheering on the GOP Presidential hopeful to the slogan: Keep Virginia Red. Prince William County went for President George W. Bush in 2004 -- fifty-three percent to forty-five percent -- over Democratic candidate John Kerry. However this year, together with Loudon County, Prince William is one of few key districts in play, which could help the Democrats carry this unexpected swing state

Paint in Blue

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:32:025 MST

Washington Prism

Washington DC Recent demographic trends in America seem to point to a realignment of the country along more liberal lines and, hence, should carry Democrats to a victory in the November general elections. Those constituencies who generally vote democratic are growing across the country, and particularly in the most highly contested states, while the pool of traditional republican voters is shrinking.

These, at least, are the findings of a recently released study, The Political Geography of Americas Purple States, that William Frey and Ruy Teixeira, of the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, and James Barnes, political correspondent for the National Journal, discussed at an event hosted by the National Press Club in Washington DC.

While democrats struggle with the general white working class, they have been performing increasingly better with those white workers that have a college degree. In 1988, the margin the Democrats had over the Republicans with white college graduates was only 1 point. In 2004 it increased to 17 points. Moreover, and to the benefit of the Democrats, white college graduates are becoming an increasing share of the electorate.

Vice Presidential Debate

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:25:050 MST

Washington Prism

St Louis, MO As Democrat Joe Biden battled Republican Sarah Palin Thursday night at Washington University in the only Vice-Presidential debate, many St Louis residents watched the face-off from the comfort of their living rooms, at a variety of private parties, and at a public viewing organized by small liberal arts college Webster University in the nearby town of Webster Groves.

A crowd of about one hundred students, alumni, and staff congregated at Webster student center.

Former Missouri Governor Bob Holden, a Democrat who is now the director of the colleges public affairs forum, organized a free watch party open to the public, with a giant flat screen TV, pizza and soda.

In the hours leading to the debate, most people expressed little faith in Governor Palins ability to engage in a serious discussion and expected a dreadful performance. At the same time, many were worried that Senator Biden would come across condescending and professorial.

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Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:05:032 MST

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On The Road To White House

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:09:055 MST

Washington Prism

Paducah, Kentucky

Bill Rayburn came to this small town at the juncture between the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers when he was 19 year-old and had $19 in his pockets. $5 went to renting a room for the night: I was one of 11 children and my dad was the town drunk, he recalls. Fifty-three years later, Mr. Rayburn owns a pawnshop on Broadway Street, at the heart of Paducahs historic downtown, and he says he is worth millions: I made my money with the stock market, Mr. Rayburn explains, adding that his investments are still safe despite the crash of Wall Street.

He put his money over a long period of time into the stocks of a regional bank with conservative lending policies, and this strategy has kept him shielded by the recent fall in the market.

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Tradition Meets Change in Oxford

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:45:040 MST

Washington Prism

Oxford, MS

A long line of people waits chattily in front of Taylor Grocerys food stand, in anticipation of their plate of fried catfish, hush puppies and French fries. Taylor Grocery is a back-roads favorite for locals and tourists alike and one of the many Oxford restaurants that set up shop here to cater to the few thousands people gathered on Friday to watch the first presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama.

With the two presidential candidates set to do battle at the University of Mississippis (or Ole Miss as everyone here likes to say) Ford Center for the Performing Arts, the University officials have set up two big screens on the Grove, the lawn at the heart of the campus for those who could not make it inside. In the hours preceding the event, a line-up of local bands takes the stage to play classics from the American tradition.

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Who Would Elvis Vote For?

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:56:010 MST

Washington Prism

Marion, AK

Big Johns Shake Shack, offering twenty-four different flavors of soft serve, is a local hangout in Marion, a town of 11,000 in southeast Arkansas. This family-owned restaurant right off of I-55 is also a microcosm of mid-America stuck in the heart of Elvis Presley country.

Memphis is only a few miles away across the Mississippi River and Marion is, essentially, a suburb of what was once home to the King. I opened this place in 1977, the year Elvis died, says owner Loretta Tacker pointing to a wall poster that advertises a concert in Hartford, Connecticut, for August 21^st 1977. Elvis never performed the concert because he was found dead on the 16^th, Ms. Tacker recalls.

RNC and Foreign Policy

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 19:09:031 MST

Washington Prism

Minneapolis, MN On the sidelines of the Republican National Convention, foreign policy experts gathered at the University of Minneapolis to take part in a weeklong discussion on international affairs. A pool of analysts sketched out the most pressing issues that the new US Administration will have to face, while advisors to the McCain campaign outlined John McCains foreign policy view.

The team of advisors defended the concept of democracy promotion and the idea of spreading American-style liberty abroad while suggesting that McCain would pursue a more moderate approach than that which characterized George W. Bushs Presidency.

Overall, the unanimous assessment was that the next President will inherit a complicated international landscape and will be faced with a series of thorny relationships with other countries, especially in the Middle East.

A Republicans view on the future of US-Iran Relations&

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:04:056 MST

Washington Prism

Minneapolis, MN Any new enlightened American policy towards Iran should begin with a deeper understanding of the complex legal and political structure of the Islamic Republic, John Vafai, a delegate to the Republican National Convention from District I of New York, told me Wednesday afternoon. The Bush Administration did not understand the situation well and they approached Iran exclusively through the lenses of a Western perspective, continued the legal scholar referring to the emphasis Washington places on Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

John Changiz Vafai is a graduate of Teheran University School of Law, Yale Law School and Harvards Kennedy School of Government. He left Iran after the Islamic Revolution, at a time when he was a Professor of Law at Teheran University. Hes been an academic, and alternated that with private practice, in Honolulu, New York, Moscow, and Baku in his native Azerbaijan. Today, Mr. Vafai lives in New York and has a private law firm advising Americans who want to start businesses in the former Soviet Union. He has been active within the Republican Party for a few years, and in 2004, he was part of a team of lawyers the GOP dispatched to Ohio to oversee voting procedures and prevent frauds.

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Republican Delegates on Iran&

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 16:57:046 MST

Washington Prism

Saint Paul, MN For the delegates to the Republican National Convention Russia, Iran and Iraq rank top among their foreign policy concerns, followed by energy independence and Afghanistan. There is little agreement however on how to pursue policies on those issues. Disagreements are even more pronounced on the topic of dealing with Iran, some citing a preference towards diplomacy and some towards the use of force.

I would back the use of force to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear power, even in the short-term, says Dennis Buchholtz from Warren, Michigan, delegate and Chair of the 12^th Congressional District for the GOP. Im afraid that if we wait too long and Iran gets nuclear weapons, Israel will be first and we dont know who will be next.

Mr. Buchholtz appreciates the fact that John McCain is an advocate for a strong military while believing that Obama wants disarmament: We wouldnt have won the Cold War had we disarmed; you can never defeat an enemy if you look weak.

WashingtonPrism Blog

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A Republicans view on the future of US-Iran Relations&