Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy
No. of Recommendations: 7
https://snyder.substack.com/p/trumps-military-dict...
In this video, I say the obvious about Trump’s proposal to increase the military budget by nearly 50%: it’s a bribe to officers and soldiers so that they will side with him when he tries to overthrow the Constitution and stay in power indefinitely.
This is where all the evidence points. If there is any consensus about Trump, it is that he is “transactional.” There is zero evidence that he has a notion of US interests. There is abundant evidence that he understands politics as a matter of people being paid off.
No. of Recommendations: 2
This is where all the evidence points. If there is any consensus about Trump, it is that he is “transactional.” There is zero evidence that he has a notion of US interests. There is abundant evidence that he understands politics as a matter of people being paid off.
Or as MAGA would say: WINNING!
No. of Recommendations: 2
This is where all the evidence points. If there is any consensus about Trump, it is that he is “transactional.” There is zero evidence that he has a notion of US interests.
He defines the "national interest" as what interests him. Most likely he is building a monument to himself. In this case, an empire. War is expensive. Then we will have the Temple to Trump the God, currently being passed off as a "ballroom", where we can pray to him.
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 0
Most likely he is building a monument to himself. And another
Trump announces plan to add 'promenade' to Lincoln Memorial
President Donald Trump on Thursday announced his administration intends to build a "promenade" to connect the Lincoln Memorial to the Potomac River.
"It's called the promenade, will be the promenade. They want to call it the 'Trump Promenade' but I don't know if I want to do that, but it's going to be beautiful," Trump said at an event in the Oval Office.https://currently.att.yahoo.com/news/politics/arti...He's so coy, isn't he?
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 1
Not a bribe. It’s about getting ready for the main event with China.
No. of Recommendations: 0
Not a bribe. It’s about getting ready for the main event with China.
Didn't he do a special $1776 payout to military personnel last year? Unlike the DOGE "dividend" and the tariff "dividend", the military payout actually happened.
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 3
It’s about getting ready for the main event with China.
If that's the case, they're not doing it. We're drawing down our missile inventory in a pointless war, and we're spending a fortune on a nuclear battle cruiser that could better be spent on finishing and deploying DDG(X) and the new frigates. It was already going to be a few years before either of those ships were ready, and now we're wasting time and money on a cruiser that -if it ever is launched, which is unlikely- is at least a decade away, and relies on 'wonder weapons' that aren't deployable yet.
The cost of the cruiser is going to be higher than an aircraft carrier (Ford class). We could buy several DDG(X) for that, which will give us more firepower (i.e. bang for the buck).
We are NOT getting ready for China. We're letting them get ahead of us because they have an actual ship building plan, and they're doing it well.
No. of Recommendations: 3
If that's the case, they're not doing it. We're drawing down our missile inventory in a pointless war, and we're spending a fortune on a nuclear battle cruiser that could better be spent on finishing and deploying DDG(X) and the new frigates. It was already going to be a few years before either of those ships were ready, and now we're wasting time and money on a cruiser that -if it ever is launched, which is unlikely- is at least a decade away, and relies on 'wonder weapons' that aren't deployable yet.
DDG(X)'s status as of September:
https://www.congress.gov/crs_external_products/IF/...It's not ready yet. The BBG concept can be debated but it's clear the fleet needs a class of battle cruiser that can stay at sea as long as a carrier can. The
Arleigh Burkes are fantastic tributes to Admiral "31 knot" Burke but they've run out their design string.
We are NOT getting ready for China. We're letting them get ahead of us because they have an actual ship building plan, and they're doing it well.We're playing catch-up. What's happened to America's shipyards in the decades since WWII has been nothing short of a tragedy.
No. of Recommendations: 0
... but they've run out their design string.
Every program since the Burke has been a disaster: huge cost overruns, huge schedule overruns, chronic breakdowns. LCS, the other LCS, the Zumwalts. The Constellations.
But I bet the builders made a nice profit, on every failure. I was tickled when Trump made the new Air Force One and Air Force tanker contracts fixed price. Boeing had been crying ever since they are loosing their shirt on those programs, because they can't gouge the living daylights out of DoD.....and the replacement Presidential 74s still have not been delivered.
Steve
No. of Recommendations: 0
The BBG concept can be debated but it's clear the fleet needs a class of battle cruiser that can stay at sea as long as a carrier can.
I disagree. It's a "nice to have". But in terms of bang vs expenditure, we don't get nearly enough bang for the buck with the BBG(N). The pros are lots of power, lots of future proofing, lots of speed, lots of duration. Cons are a cost more than a carrier, or several DDG(X) ships, and weapons systems that are not deployable (and may not be for a long time). That same money spent on DDG(X) would yield a lot more bang, and a -hopefully- worthy replacement of the Areleighs.
The Arleigh Burkes are fantastic tributes to Admiral "31 knot" Burke but they've run out their design string.
On that we agree. They were a fantastic design with outstanding performance. But they need a bigger powerplant, and updated electronics that will utilize it. Which was the whole point of DDG(X).
What's happened to America's shipyards in the decades since WWII has been nothing short of a tragedy.
Agreed, again. We need a few more, and they need to get busy cranking out DDG(X), and frigates. We are good at producing nuclear carriers and nuclear subs**. In fact, arguably the best in the world.
**Note that the addition of the nuclear BBGN means that it will have to displace construction of other things since only a very few yards are able to handle installing a nuclear power plant. As it is, the Nimitz class is long in the tooth (being replaced by the Ford), as is the Ohio class and Los Angeles class (Columbia and Virginia, respectively).
