View of the candidates from a retired Air Force officer

I have never hid my affiliation with the Armed Services and looked forward to watching last night's debate. I watch international events closely because I was a former intelligence officer.

I saw one man who can handle the job as commander-in-chief (CINC). This is a tough job when you consider that two-thirds of the men in the Armed Forces are Evangelicals. This is not a crowd that necessarily appreciates Democrats.

Both Obama and his wife and the Biden family have made every effort to reach out to the Armed Forces. The Joint Chiefs of Staff have good listeners in the White House. The friction that existed between the general officers and the Bush White House was clear. Donald Rumsfeld came across as one of the dumbest Secretaries of Defense that I can recall.

The misadventures of Dubya led to two unfunded wars in the middle east and a crippling deficit when coupled with the Bush tax cuts , Mittens knows this and tried to portray himself as a foreign policy moderate last night rather than as a chicken hawk he has has been projecting with the conservative base.

Was Mitten's performance last night believable?

Rightardia doesn't think so. If Mittens were elected, our allies would drop like flies and harsh international rhetoric would restart.

Negotiations with Iran would end and the middle east would become a more dangerous place.

Keep in mind that foreign policy is part of national defense. You try to work out agreements using diplomacy  with nations so military force doesn't have to be used.

The Republican view is dyslexic, use military force and justify your actions retroactively  In the case of the Iraq invasion, the Bush administration claimed Iraq has phantom Weapons of Mass Destruction and also planned a Unmanned Aerial Vehicle attack on the US.

Both stories were right wing baloney.

Republicans prefer the stick to the carrot. The hawkish Progress for a New American Century (PNAC) wrote in Rebuilding America’s Defenses, September 2000, Project for a New American Century, www.newamericancentury.org:

While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein ...


Although Mittens has been hammering Obama on Israel  he didn't say much about it last night. It was interesting although Bibi Namenyahu wants some red lines in the sand, Iran will not have a nuclear bomb for at least four years. In addition, Iran has no nuclear delivery system.

If you think Mittens will be a foreign policy moderate  think again! About two thirds of his foreign policy advisers are hawks from the Bush administration who believe war is good for corporate profits.

Whey spend federal revenues on roads and bridges when you can start a war and put billions into the conservative defense industries in which the defense CEOs are better paid than the banksters?

War is increasingly becoming a national GOP drill that favors conservative corporations.

Of course, If you have someone like John Bolton on your reelection team, be afraid, very afraid!  

When Mittens was governor of MA, he tried the run the state as it CEO. He is a "read my lips" director type and not a good listener. 

It is clear that Obama is doing fine job as commander -in-chief and head of state. Mittens would enter the White House on training wheels with his limited national and foreign policy experience.

Would he be smart enough to listen to his generals? Rightardia doubts it. GW Bush certainly didn't listen to his senior officers. If he had, the US would have never invaded Iraq.

Romney's performance last night convinced me he would be a mediocre CINC at best.

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