The Obama military deficit.

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Listen To You Tell Me Texas Friday 6/6/14

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Thirty three of our 44 presidents have served in uniform. Prior to Bill Clinton, the last president without uniformed military service was Franklin Roosevelt. However, Roosevelt’s lack of time in uniform was mitigated by the fact that he was Assistant Secretary of the Navy during World War I.

Bill Clinton had no military service – a fact that might have crippled him as commander-in-chief had he not been the immediate inheritor of the brief interlude of relative calm following the end of the Cold War. The minor and limited deployments and humanitarian military efforts under President Clinton tested neither the president nor the resolve of the American people.

That post-Cold War interlude came to an abrupt halt on Sept. 11, 2001. America’s vacation from history ended dramatically and the world has not been calm since.

Thus in President Barack Obama are we now forced to confront – for the first time in living memory – what a commander-in-chief with no military experience looks like when things get tense.

The vision is not comforting.

We knew when we elected him that Barack Obama has never worn a uniform. But what we may have failed to appropriately consider is that he would surround himself with people equally devoid of a military resume. Not only has practically no one in the Obama administration ever served in uniform, many if not most are openly condescending toward those that do.

All of which creates a troubling juxtaposition at this hour.

Early in the morning of June 6, President Obama took part in the observation of the 70th anniversary of the Allied D-Day landings at Normandy. As we remember that momentous undertaking, it is worth imagining how the operation might have gone if Barack Obama had been in charge at the time.

To what degree would “leading from behind” have been effective in marshaling two million men to invade the European continent? To what extent would disappearing “red lines” have further emboldened Hitler (and later Stalin)?

In his remarks, the president intoned in his now predictable and tired way of the Allied D-Day campaign seven decades ago.

But in the immediate wake of two huge breaches of trust with the troops he commands – the VA scandal and now the monumentally bad decision surrounding the prisoner swap for Army sergeant Bowe Berghdal – his words land with a thud.

Five and a half years of his presidency that include two recent scandals involving the military has made clear that Obama has no idea of the real significance of D-Day nor any idea of what it took for America’s sons to do what they did.

No idea at all.

With the VA scandal and now Berghdal, the Obama administration’s military experience deficit is on stark display to the men and women of our armed services. It’s also on display to bad actors around the world who would do us harm.

Something to think about the next time we hire a president.

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Paul Gleiser

Paul L. Gleiser is president of ATW Media, LLC, licensee of radio stations KTBB 97.5 FM/AM600, 92.1 The TEAM FM in Tyler-Longview, Texas.

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6 Responses

  1. pk says:

    Amazingly enough this was exactly the topic ic conversation in a group the other day.
    You mentioned several deficits that Obama has becauase of his lack of military training but several more deficits are apparent also.
    Obama has a lack of reverence for our country that is VERY obvious; especially because he is the nominal leader of our country & its values.
    Obama also has a deficit in the way of thinking that the military teaches you.

    Obama can not relate to any Veteran because he ‘ain’t one’.

    Obama hasn’t the proper reverence for our flag that the military insists on.
    The lack of the commeradie that the military espouses makes Obama appear stiff & arrogant.

    Just my humble opinion.
    Thanks

  2. There can be no doubt that Obama isn’t qualified for anything, much less president. When I glanced at your column’s title in the subject line among other incoming emails, I at first thought it said, “The Obama mental deficit.” Little wonder given his pathetic track record.

  3. Paul says:

    Deficits?

    He has:

    1. No real experience in government except part of one term as Senator.
    2. No experience at business.
    3. No military experience.
    4. No working ones way up in life.

    And all that lack of experience has added up along with his zero learning curve and failure to even get more experienced people to advise him.

    Other than that he is doing fine.

  4. Linda E. Montrose says:

    In my humble opinion, there should never be a president elected that has no military experience. Our freedom is too valuable, as we have seen with this person we have in office now, to have some like obama in office. A person that does not have our best interests at heart and never will. obama’s main agenda from the get go was to become a dictator and the people in our congress have done nothing to stop his grab for power! Cripple our military as clinton started and obama is finishing is a sure step in the direction obama wants to keep going in…the destruction of America!

  5. Alan Munroe says:

    Your Friday “D-Day” expose is spot on, however the underlying issues have a historical pattern. The Government has been doing the same antics since WWI. Then the Government promised benefits to veterans and reigned on those promises then! If you have time examine “Veterans March on Washington” or “Bonus Army” following said war, also the reneging of promises to WWII Veterans (loan guarantee following discharge). The previous was an experience my Dad endured that caused great stress within our family, plans were made and the Government wanted to leverage all extended family assets for a post war business start-up. Or should we forget the Viet Nam Vets and their pain upon returning home. I am convinced that, ”The Powers That Be” are deeply ungrateful for the sacrifice and service of Our Veterans.
    Having used the term “The Powers That Be”, I am convinced that the term should be “The Predators That Be”. I would refer you to a book Wall Street and the Rise of Hitler. The financial system has been hedging bets on both sides of wars for ages.
    And now I would refer to The Bible and a pattern of Governments and their vacating of truth as a foundation to guide. Please read I Samuel 5, and observe the pattern of the Philistines has lifted its head within our military policy guidance. Again I am convinced the Government/Military has morphed to reflect the Philistines Way, “divest from the knowledge of God of Israel”
    Regards
    Alan Munroe

  6. C M Solomon says:

    Barack Hussein Obama is on a military/social/political MISSION that normal Americans don’t understand. It has NOTHING to do with his lack of military experience. In fact, his subterfuge to eradicate the Constitution and his success at avoiding the LEGAL requirements of the office of the President is nothing more than a cunning and deliberate set of actions to incrementally disarm opposition by the American public by an increasing set of despicable actions to replace our society with the Marxist Dream of his Father. His tactic is to thumb his nose at our way of life while creating situations of turmoil and threats to all the institutions of “rule of law” and legal behavior that would normally be expected to be opposed by a loyal President. The Law means nothing to this revolutionary that is Barack. He is in fact, executing a successful war plan while slowly eradicating any pretense of being a President who took the oath of office.

    The total lack of concern for our military, rules of engagement, veterans, and refusal to maintain a strong military force, speaks volumes on his war on America. In his mind, he is the Savior and Redeemer of the arrogant, imperialist actions of the Unites States economy and military on the rest of the world since its founding. He is providing reparations to the rest of the world for our sins by taking out retribution on this country. The border is open and our defenses are weak and he releases terrorists and criminals that are EXCUSED for their violence because it is our fault for the misery in the rest of the world. The mantel of President is to camouflage his unlimited power to carry out his mission of reparations. The Law, the Constitution, and the future of America are to be damned! He knows that no one is going to stop him!

    With this knowledge, any informed patriotic American should be able to accurately forecast most of his actions. He wins his war by intimidation and eradication of liberty by omission of law enforcement and commission of selective treasonous acts that encourage our enemies to punish us for our prosperity and military might, which has been accomplished at the expense of the rest of the world. Once he takes over the Banking, Military, Legal, Housing, Medical, Transportation, Agriculture, and Education Systems, etc., by bureaucratic edict, he can Rule this country the “way it ought to be ruled” and only his elite bureaucracy, the new Obama domestic empire, will dispense freedom and punishment by regulations that support His America based on His “Obama Fairness Doctrine”. When His Banks control lending of capital for all enterprises, then he can place restrictions on everything, from the purchase of weapons, to housing, food, education, real estate, energy, transportation, etc., that can be patterned after His Vision of Fairness and Equality. Welcome to the Fascist/Marxist version of Obama’s future America. General Obama is conquering America without a legitimate whimper. Only illegitimate racists are complaining, don’t you know?

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