Who Needs
Modern Airpower?
“The biggest cuts should come in the three advanced tactical
and Joint Strike Fighter aircraft: the Air Force’s F-22, the Navy’s
F-18, and the shared F-35. The Pentagon plans to spend
hundreds of billions of dollars over the next two decades
on these planes, which are designed
to replace older models that are already superior to
anything any other country can put in the air.”—New
York Times editorial, Feb. 5.
Cruise Missile Threat
“I have argued for years that it is only a matter of time
before our deployed forces, or our homeland, will be
attacked by cruise missiles. They are spreading, and they are for sale.”—Secretary
of the Air Force James G. Roche, speech at Center for
Strategic and International Studies, Jan. 21.
Je Ne Regrette Rien
“I’m too old to have regrets. No, I don’t regret it.”—Secretary
of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld, asked about his earlier
comments on “Old
Europe” and “New Europe,” Reuters, Feb. 6.
But Amends Are in Sight
“The American Administration cannot stay too long in the
eyes of its own public opinion on such bad terms with
one of its oldest allies.”—French Defense Minister Michele Alliot–Marie,
telling the National Assembly she perceives a US desire “to turn
the page,” Agence France–Presse, quoted by Washington Times,
Jan. 22.
Closing In
“We have a variety of intelligence and we’re sure we’re going
to catch Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar this year.”—Lt.
Col. Bryan Hilferty, US Army spokesman in Afghanistan, New
York Daily News, Jan. 30.
Hustler Not Embedded
“We find that there is no constitutional right for the media
to embed with US military forces in combat.”—US appeals
court on lawsuit by publisher Larry Flynt, seeking access for
Hustler magazine correspondents to US troops in Afghanistan,
UPI, Feb. 4.
Fast Forgiveness ...
“I, as president of Pakistan, have decided to pardon Dr.
A.Q. Khan who is our national hero but he has made mistakes,
which is unfortunate.”—President Pervez Musharraf, one day
after Khan acknowledged leaking nuclear arms secrets to Iran, Libya,
and North Korea, Reuters, Feb. 5.
... And Broader Involvement?
“Nobody in Pakistan believes Qadeer Khan just woke up one
day and decided to sell the nuclear secrets on his own.
[He] is being made a scapegoat to cover up the involvement of military leaders.”—Former
Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Washington Times,
Feb. 15.
Army Too Small
“I have been in the Army 39 years, and I’ve never seen the Army as
stretched in that 39 years as I have today.”—Lt. Gen. John
M. Riggs, director of the Army’s Objective Force Task Force, Baltimore
Sun, Jan. 21.
Accusation of AWOL
“I look forward to that debate, when John Kerry, a war hero
with a chest full of medals, is standing next to George
Bush, a man who was AWOL [during Air National Guard service]. George Bush never
served
in our military in our country. He didn’t show up when he should
have showed up.”—Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the
Democratic National Committee, quoted in New York Times, Feb. 2.
Jane Fonda Outraged
“Any attempts to link Kerry to me and to make him look bad
with that connection is completely false. We were at
a rally for veterans at the same time. I spoke. Donald Sutherland spoke. John
Kerry spoke at
the end. ... How can you impugn, how can you even suggest
that a Vietnam veteran like John Kerry, or any of them, are not patriotic?”—Jane
Fonda, responding to publication of a photo of Presidential
candidate Kerry and Fonda at a 1970 rally of Vietnam
Veterans Against the War, CNN,
Feb. 11.
Separate Defenses
“We don’t know if the United States will have forever the resources,
or the interest, to defend Europe.”—Gen. Gustav Hagglund
of Finland, chairman of the European Union military committee,
on why Europeans need their own defense programs, Reuters,
Jan. 20.
The Undead Walk
“It actually said I’d died.”—Army Chief of Staff
Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker on official notice of his death,
sent to his home after
his name dropped from the retired payroll when he was
recalled to active duty, Philadelphia Inquirer, Feb.
11.
Backlash for Bin Laden
“The biggest price we have paid is that we have lost the
high ground. While Bush has led the war on terror, it
has become a chief recruiter for al Qaeda.”—Kenneth Roth, director
of Human Rights Watch, London Times, Jan. 22.
Union Busting
“What on Earth does any of this have to do with national
security? In fact, in times as perilous as these, sticking
it to defense workers will only serve to disenfranchise a workforce that has
served
the nation honorably throughout its history and continues
to do so during the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is, without
a doubt,
nothing but flat-out union busting by Rumsfeld and his
cronies who know, in many cases, that it is union members who are the watchdogs
over private
contract abuses.”—John Gage, president of the American
Federation of Government Employees, on Defense Department proposals
for Civil Service reform, Feb. 9.
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