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May 06, 2005

War and Peace

Last month marked the second anniversary of the liberation of Baghdad from Saddam Hussein’s rule. While American troops remain stationed in Iraq, some members of the military and the Bush administration believe soldiers may start coming home within the next year, to the relief of family and friends. Meanwhile, U.S. forces also remain in Afghanistan, raising questions about whether the military is properly equipped, with both adequate personnel and technology, to maintain two fronts.

BRAC Will Protect Readiness Needs

No later than May 16 the secretary of Defense will release a list of U.S. military installations recommended for closure or realignment under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure round.

Additional Criteria Are Needed for BRAC

For many months, communities across the nation have been nervously awaiting the news from the Bush administration about which military bases it proposes to close in the current round of the Base Realignment and Closing process. The anxiety is with good reasons. The administration has called this round the “mother of all BRACs” and suggested that the Pentagon intends to eliminate as much as 25 percent of its infrastructure as part of Secretary Donald Rumsfeld’s so-called “transformation plan.”

Transformation Key to Military Success

Some of us need a sharp reminder about why we are here. The first and most important function of the federal government is and always will be national security.

Standing Marine Corps, Army Must Be Expanded

A growing number of current and former military officers are expressing strong concern over the strain being placed on our armed forces, and for good reason: Our armed forces are too small, and the demands on them are too great.

New Wars Demand New Systems

Twice in the past 64 years, Americans have woken to the startling realization that no ocean is wide enough to shield this continental nation from the turbulence of history. Pearl Harbor and 9/11 not only drew America into global wars, but also revolutionized the tools and conduct of such warfare. In the 1940s, planes with propellers were quickly replaced by high-speed jets, and nuclear weapons raised the stakes of war by an order of magnitude previously incomprehensible. Warfare before World War II and warfare after were fundamentally different, yet in important respects it much remained the same. Young Americans would continue to be brought to far-away places to win conflicts with their “boots on the ground.” So it is now. Big things are happening at the Pentagon, and while buzzwords like “transformation” and “modularity” generate lots of excitement, and even upheaval, the need for well-trained, and well-led, troops remains constant.

New Space Age Needs New Tools

Today, we are at the beginning of a second Space Age. The first Space Age was born of the Cold War. America’s desire to beat the Soviet Union in the space race propelled the U.S. space program to incredible technological achievements. We put satellites and people into orbit. We sent probes throughout the solar system and humans to the moon in the span of a decade. But after this spurt of growth, a lack of vision and leadership kept the U.S. space program from achieving its exploration potential. For the next three decades human space flight remained in low earth orbit while we relied on robotic probes to explore our planetary neighbors. But at the same time, commercial launch technologies matured and the world gradually became dependent on space assets. Satellites are an integral part of the navigation, communication and entertainment infrastructures we use every day. But at the same time, commercial launch technologies matured and the world gradually became dependent on space assets. Satellites are an integral part of the navigation, communication and entertainment infrastructures we use every day.

NASA Must Continue Multimission Approach

Our desire to explore space, to go beyond this world, is rooted firmly in a human desire that has existed since the first human stared into the night sky. It is a desire that has been passed down through human history and has found deep roots in America. We are a land where pioneers stood on the frontier looking and going beyond what is known. Our space program has a proud tradition of accomplishments. When challenged by President John F. Kennedy to put a man on the moon before the decade’s end, America could not even put a man into earth’s orbit, but we answered the call. We’ve stood on the Moon and have begun to unlock many of the secrets of Mars.