Report: Pentagon Considering Use of Air Force Bombers In Syria Attack Plan…

Senate Panel Backs Use of Force Against Syria

WASHINGTON—A key Senate panel on Wednesday backed President Barack Obama's request to strike Syria, while the Pentagon prepared to employ greater firepower to reach a shifting array of military targets.

The revised options under development, which reflect Pentagon concerns that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has dispersed his military equipment, include the use of Air Force bombers to supplement the four Navy destroyers armed with missiles that are deployed in the eastern Mediterranean. Initially, Pentagon planners said they didn't intend to use aircraft in the proposed strikes.

The Pentagon shift came amid an accelerating tempo toward U.S. military action in response to the Assad regime's alleged use of chemical weapons on a large scale Aug. 21, an attack U.S. officials say killed more than 1,400 people, including hundreds of children.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed a resolution Wednesday saying a goal of U.S. policy will be to "change the momentum on the battlefield'' in Syria's civil war and speed a negotiated removal of Mr. Assad. The measure would ban the use of ground forces in Syria "for the purpose of combat operations" and sets a 60-day limit for Mr. Obama to launch strikes. It includes a possible 30-day extension if Mr. Obama determined that was needed to meet the resolution's goals.

Via: WSJ

Continue Reading...

Obama Reduces 2014 Pay Hike for U.S. Troops, Still Fighting in Afghanistan

(CNSNews.com) - As promised in his Fiscal Year 2014 budget, President Obama has just informed Congress that he will cap next year's pay raise for U.S. military personnel at 1 percent, instead of the 1.8 percent raise set by the formula Congress established.

The announcement came on Friday afternoon, at the start of the long Labor Day weekend, in a letter to Congress.

"I am strongly committed to supporting our uniformed service members, who have made such great contributions to our Nation over the past decade of war," President Obama wrote to congressional leaders. "As our country continues to recover from serious economic conditions affecting the general welfare, however, we must maintain efforts to keep our Nation on a sustainable fiscal course. This effort requires tough choices, especially in light of budget constraints faced by Federal agencies."

Obama said he has decided to "exercise my authority under section 1009(e) of title 37, United States Code, to set the 2014 monthly basic pay increase at 1.0 percent" for members of the military.

"This decision is consistent with my fiscal year 2014 Budget and will not materially affect the Federal Government's ability to attract and retain well-qualified members for the uniformed services," Obama wrote. 

Via: CNS News

Continue Reading....

Obama Executive Order Triples Number Of Agencies Required To Track Guns…

President Obama is tripling the number of Cabinet agencies with gun control law enforcement responsibilities in his new bid to track guns, adding six agencies to the three typically included--Justice, Homeland Security and Defense.

Section 1.e of his executive order released Wednesday adds State, Treasury, Interior, Agriculture, Energy, and Veterans Affairs. It reads: "For purposes of this memorandum, 'Federal law enforcement agencies' means the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defense, Justice, the Interior, Agriculture, Energy, Veterans Affairs, and Homeland Security, and such other agencies and offices that regularly recover firearms in the course of their criminal investigations as the President may designate."

Most federal agencies have a police or security arm, but typically law enforcement doesn't included those other six agencies. Justice, in fact, defines law enforcement this way on its web page:

"A federal law enforcement agency is an organizational unit, or subunit, of the federal government with the principle functions of prevention, detection, and investigation of crime and the apprehension of alleged offenders. Examples of federal law enforcement agencies include the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Secret Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). BJS has surveyed federal law enforcement agencies seven times since 1993. The 2008 Census of Federal Law Enforcement Officers (FLEO) included agencies that employed full-time officers with federal arrest authority who were also authorized (but not necessarily required) to carry firearms while on duty. The officer counts exclude officers in the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the Transportation Security Administration's Federal Air Marshals. Findings are based on the 2008 Census of Federal Law Enforcement Officers."

Via: The Examiner

Continue Reading...

THE BIG FAIL: Obama’s Defense Priorities: Wrong For Ohio

Obama’s Defense Budget And Inaction On Sequestration Threaten Ohio Jobs

Obama’s FY2013 Defense Budget Would Result In The Loss Of 794 Jobs Across Ohio, Including 209 Full-Time Positions And 485 Part-Time Positions. “According to a news release from the Ohio Adjutant General’s Office, ‘The net result of the proposed Air Force reductions and National Guard mitigation efforts involving Ohio is that 794 total jobs will be lost throughout the state. Of that, 309 are full-time positions and 485 are part-time positions.’” (Ted Hart, “Air Force Proposes Job Cuts In Ohio,” NBC4i, 3/7/12)

OBAMA’S DEFENSE PRIORITIES THREATEN JOBS ACROSS OHIO’S AIR FORCE BASES

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base – Dayton, Ohio

Today, Obama Will Campaign In Dayton, Ohio Where His Defense Cuts Threaten 452 Jobs At Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. “President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will appear at a rally Tuesday in Dayton at Triangle Park, 2500 Ridge Ave — their first joint appearance at an Ohio campaign event this election cycle.” (Joe Hallet, “Obama-Biden Dayton Venue Announced,” The Columbus Dispatch , 10/19/12)

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Will Lose 452 Positions Under Obama’s FY2013 Budget. “Wright-Patterson Air Force Base will lose 452 positions among active-duty and civilian ranks this year and next, part of a cost-cutting reduction of approximately 10,000 positions across the Air Force, defense officials said Tuesday. The 445th Airlift Wing, the unit at Wright-Patterson that flies C-17 transport aircraft for the Air Force, will see a net gain of 57 positions among weekend and full-time reservists, the Air Force said.” (John Nolan And Barrie Barber, “452 Positions To Be Cut At Wright-Patterson,” Dayton Daily News , 3/6/12)

• The 452 Positions Include 162 Active-Duty Military And 235 Civilian Positions. “The 452 positions — 290 civilian and 162 active-duty military — to be eliminated at Wright-Patterson this year and in 2013 include the base’s net loss of 235 civilian positions previously announced by the Air Force in November and January. The job cuts will affect the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, Air Force Materiel Command, Air Force Institute of Technology and the base’s Band of Flight musicians, among others, base spokesman Daryl Mayer said.” (John Nolan And Barrie Barber, “452 Positions To Be Cut At Wright-Patterson,” Dayton Daily News , 3/6/12)

• The Civilian Positions Being Eliminated Involve Intelligence, Surveillance And Reconnaissance Operations. “The bulk of the civilian positions being eliminated involve intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations, Mayer said.” (John Nolan And Barrie Barber, “452 Positions To Be Cut At Wright-Patterson,” Dayton Daily News , 3/6/12)

Wright-Patterson Drives $4.7 Billion In Business, 27,000 Direct Jobs, And An Estimated 35,000 Off-Base Jobs And Accounts For 14 Percent Of The Gross Domestic Product In The Dayton Area. “The huge military installation just outside Dayton is a full-throated, super-charged engine driving an estimateia: 

Via: GOP.com

Continue Reading...

Last of US Surge Troops Leave Afghanistan

AP

Last of US Surge Troops Leave Afghanistan, Officials Say

U.S. officials say that nearly two years after President Barack Obama ordered 33,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan to tamp down escalating Taliban violence, the last of those surge troops have left the country.

The withdrawal leaves 68,000 American forces in the warzone. It comes as the security transition to Afghan forces is in trouble, threatened by a spike in so-called insider attacks in which Afghan Army and police troops, or insurgents dressed in their uniforms, have been attacking and killing U.S. and NATO forces.

And it's called into question the core strategy that relies on NATO troops working closely with Afghans, training them to take over the security of their own country so the U.S. and its allies can leave at the end of 2014 as planned.

Via: Fox News

Continue Reading...