Pentagon: You're fired!

[Hypoxia]

The U.S Dept of Defense aka Pentagon has not won a war since 1945. Of course, Congress has not declared war since 1942. But although US forces perform great tactically, strategies and management eat shit. I read of ridiculous rotations, failure to reward or punish success or fuckup, a corporate CYA culture, and lotsa lost money.

Tromp campaigned against the Afghan war, promised to shut it down. Pentagon convinces him to up the ante uselessly. Why listen to these wimps?

Tromp claims executive acumen and chops. What to do with incompetent minions? FIRE THEM! Pink slips for everyone responsible for not prevailing in the MidEast, East Asia, Latin America, Africa, everywhere. Repeal and Replace their lazy luzer asses.

Who to replace them with? More of Tromp's old zillionaire pals and stock manipulators, sure. Modern finance is a form of warfare. A hostile takeover is a complex series of battles. All can be similarly managed. Just hire some smart guys. Right.

You are POTUS. What do you do with the Pentagon?

 

[DrDelirium]

The US military has not fought a near-peer opponent, let alone a peer opponent, since WWII. All the defeats it has suffered since have been at the hands of technologically, numerically and materially inferior opponents. It doesn't seem meaningful, therefore, to say that they 'perform great tactically.'
They do, however, 'perform great' strategically, if you understand the strategic aims: bolstering US economic hegemony around the globe, enriching the MIC, advancing careerist officers and enriching them on retirement when they enter the private sector, and promoting the erosion of individual liberties by maintaining a perpetual state of war.
Note that the mainstream press assisted in the destruction of the 'rogue' Flynn who supported Trump's change of Middle East policy, and then celebrated it; has invented a whole 'Russia-gate' fantasy to prevent Trump's attempt at rapprochement with Russia; hailed Trump as 'presidential' when he made a meaningless (and completely illegal) missile strike on a Syrian air base; and given the generals that have replaced Trump's earlier choices in the security apparatus praise and a free pass on their idiocy.
I think it's pretty clear that POTUS cannot do anything about the Pentagon without an extensive system of support in Congress, the courts and the military itself. That is, the problem is institutional, not a personality issue of Trump or anyone else. And there is simply no way these institutions will reform themselves, putting people of sense in the second ranks of power where a rogue POTUS can use them to replace those that follow the institutional script.
A POTUS who made it his real priority to 'drain the swamp,' would, of necessity, be starting a civil war.

 

[Ghostee]

The U.S Dept of Defense aka Pentagon has not won a war since 1945. Of course, Congress has not declared war since 1942. But although US forces perform great tactically, strategies and management eat shit. I read of ridiculous rotations, failure to reward or punish success or fuckup, a corporate CYA culture, and lotsa lost money.

Tromp campaigned against the Afghan war, promised to shut it down. Pentagon convinces him to up the ante uselessly. Why listen to these wimps?

Tromp claims executive acumen and chops. What to do with incompetent minions? FIRE THEM! Pink slips for everyone responsible for not prevailing in the MidEast, East Asia, Latin America, Africa, everywhere. Repeal and Replace their lazy luzer asses.

Who to replace them with? More of Tromp's old zillionaire pals and stock manipulators, sure. Modern finance is a form of warfare. A hostile takeover is a complex series of battles. All can be similarly managed. Just hire some smart guys. Right.

You are POTUS. What do you do with the Pentagon?

Did you sleep through the first Gulf War, we won that one please update your wiki page of Pentagon hate.
Isn't the War on terror a War , cause troops fighting and dying in battle is a War screw declared war status b.s.

Does the Pentagon lose a tom of money YES, are they accountable No and when the DC folk can get away with it the Pentagon folk just go along as the too big to fail or go to jail mentality is working here.

There's is not one single problem here but an entire culture of elite dogma akin to the Hollywood folk or the Media folk and the sad truth is no one will do anything about it cause they work about the laws, hell they create the laws......

 

[Hypoxia]

Did you sleep through the first Gulf War, we won that one please update your wiki page of Pentagon hate.

Oh yeah, those gulf wars sure went well. I'd call them "winning the war but losing the peace" except there ain't no peace yet. Was peace in Axis nations after WWII because national asses got stomped; their peoples KNEW they were defeated. You haven't lost if you don't KNOW you have. Iraqis are still figuring that out.

Isn't the War on terror a War , cause troops fighting and dying in battle is a War screw declared war status b.s.

Congress has not declared war since 4 July 1942. Wars on terror, drugs, poverty, litter, are not wars. Unlike declared wars, these aren't seen as fights against existential threats. USA won't be destroyed by those enemies so popular support is low.

Does the Pentagon lose a tom of money YES, are they accountable No and when the DC folk can get away with it the Pentagon folk just go along as the too big to fail or go to jail mentality is working here.

Recent reports say Pentagon can't account for TRILLIONS of bucks -- many megatons of money, a noticeable chunk of the national debt, enough to buy several countries. Not accounting for it verges on High Treason.

There's is not one single problem here but an entire culture of elite dogma akin to the Hollywood folk or the Media folk and the sad truth is no one will do anything about it cause they work about the laws, hell they create the laws......

Tromp is a cultural/media elite with a star on Hollywood Blvd. His job experience? A showman in the P.T.Barnum mold. "This way to the Egress ==>" says the conning sign. Tromp is the poster child of America's troubles, not the cure.

 

[Hypoxia]

They do, however, 'perform great' strategically, if you understand the strategic aims: bolstering US economic hegemony around the globe, enriching the MIC, advancing careerist officers and enriching them on retirement when they enter the private sector, and promoting the erosion of individual liberties by maintaining a perpetual state of war.

Not exactly strategies in the national interest. Thus, failed USA defense strategies.

I think it's pretty clear that POTUS cannot do anything about the Pentagon without an extensive system of support in Congress, the courts and the military itself. That is, the problem is institutional, not a personality issue of Trump or anyone else.

POTUS is CiC, commander in chief. He can issue orders. Failure to follow lawful orders is a rather serious offense. He can order DoD, Pentagon, national intelligence agencies, to change their structures and operations. Fire commanders who can't command, promisers who can't deliver, units that don't perform. He doesn't seem to understand his power -- for which America might be grateful. But if any swamps need draining, there they are.

A POTUS who made it his real priority to 'drain the swamp,' would, of necessity, be starting a civil war.

Which major distraction may be Tromp's only way to avoid prison. The swamp he's already drained consists of career staffers who know how agencies operate -- anyone with governing expertise. He certainly hasn't drained the incompetents.

Can an institutional culture be changed? Tromp's minions are gutting civilian agencies, smashing their cultures. POTUS has the power to effect a military cultural change... and recover trillions of taxpayer dollars. But no, he's weak, so he won't.

 

[TheWhiteBull]

Not exactly strategies in the national interest. Thus, failed USA defense strategies.

Failed USA defense strategies but as he's pinting out that's just a claim anyways. They're hitting said actual goals.

POTUS is CiC, commander in chief. He can issue orders. Failure to follow lawful orders is a rather serious offense. He can order DoD, Pentagon, national intelligence agencies, to change their structures and operations. Fire commanders who can't command, promisers who can't deliver, units that don't perform. He doesn't seem to understand his power -- for which America might be grateful. But if any swamps need draining, there they are.

Can an institutional culture be changed? Tromp's minions are gutting civilian agencies, smashing their cultures. POTUS has the power to effect a military cultural change... and recover trillions of taxpayer dollars. But no, he's weak, so he won't.

Yeah but that sounds like work.

 

[DrDelirium]

Not exactly strategies in the national interest. Thus, failed USA defense strategies.

POTUS is CiC, commander in chief. He can issue orders. Failure to follow lawful orders is a rather serious offense. He can order DoD, Pentagon, national intelligence agencies, to change their structures and operations. Fire commanders who can't command, promisers who can't deliver, units that don't perform. He doesn't seem to understand his power -- for which America might be grateful. But if any swamps need draining, there they are.

Which major distraction may be Tromp's only way to avoid prison. The swamp he's already drained consists of career staffers who know how agencies operate -- anyone with governing expertise. He certainly hasn't drained the incompetents.

Can an institutional culture be changed? Tromp's minions are gutting civilian agencies, smashing their cultures. POTUS has the power to effect a military cultural change... and recover trillions of taxpayer dollars. But no, he's weak, so he won't.

If you think that the our government is working for the national interest, you're just not paying attention. By failing to understand who they are working for, you mistake their self-serving successes for failures.

There is, btw, nothing magical about giving orders, legal or not. There is open talk in the press about Mattis, for example, possibly declining to obey Trump's orders if they involve attacking NK. If Trump fires Mattis, who does he replace him with?
Yes, Trump is gutting civilian agencies, because he doesn't care if they don't do anything. It is harder to take this position with the military, who, if they are unable to do anything else, at least have quite a bit of experience in overthrowing hostile governments.

As for draining the incompetents, what evidence do you have that there are competents available to replace them? The power of these institutions is so pervasive that nobody who is not a product of them is considered 'competent' to do their jobs. The rare individuals who rise in the system without becoming entirely corrupted by it are deemed crazy, or extremists, or 'rogues' like Flynn. There really is no 'smooth' way to transition from this kind of institutionalized corruption to something that is 'in the national interest' because it involves purging huge numbers of people and replacing them with 'outsiders.' Trump does not have a pool of outsiders to draw upon even if he was willing to do this, and by the nature of being outsiders, such a move would be massively disruptive to the ordinary business of government, if he did.
Trump has many goals that I oppose, but there isn't much hope of him achieving anything, whether I like it or not, as long as the government as a whole is populated by neocons and time-servers. Where would you turn to replace the hundreds of thousands of them that need replacing?

 

[Hypoxia]

Yes, Trump is gutting civilian agencies, because he doesn't care if they don't do anything. It is harder to take this position with the military, who, if they are unable to do anything else, at least have quite a bit of experience in overthrowing hostile governments.

Tell Raul Castro.

My expected domestic overthrow would be a "nice clean hit" -- something is fabricated that forces removal of POTUS. Don't be too messy. Bloodless coups are easier to swallow.

As for draining the incompetents, what evidence do you have that there are competents available to replace them?

I alluded to that by suggesting Tromp install his buddies and other slimeballs, maybe those who, like him, attended a military-style academy. But who says they all need to be replaced? He signs an order canceling expensive dysfunctional programs and ZAP! hundreds of thousands of military and civilians can seek honest jobs.

Trump has many goals that I oppose, but there isn't much hope of him achieving anything, whether I like it or not, as long as the government as a whole is populated by neocons and time-servers. Where would you turn to replace the hundreds of thousands of them that need replacing?

The staff aren't the barrier. Tromp is his own major obstacle. He's fronted a tiny organization of ass-kissers for years. He's never passed a civics course. His gov't experience consisted of bribery. He has no idea how gov't works, how to deal with the many separate power centers at local, state, national, global levels. He'll accomplish nothing because he never intended or planned for success. He's hollow.

 

[jaF0]

Did you sleep through the first Gulf War, we won that one

Won what? We're still there aren't we? Some 20 years later? Is there peace yet? Is there peace in Korea?

Patton and Montgomery 'won' in the Middle East in a matter of months. But of course, they were THERE, not in easy chairs in a command center in Florida.

 

[DrDelirium]

The staff aren't the barrier. Tromp is his own major obstacle. He's fronted a tiny organization of ass-kissers for years. He's never passed a civics course. His gov't experience consisted of bribery. He has no idea how gov't works, how to deal with the many separate power centers at local, state, national, global levels. He'll accomplish nothing because he never intended or planned for success. He's hollow.

That is no answer. You asked the question, what would you do as POTUS? But you have no answer. Again, whether he knows how government works or not- the choice is between those that do because they are part of the corrupt system, and those that don't. There are no other candidates.
While I am all for canceling a lot of military programs, the fact is that simply putting more Americans out of work will not bring about a kinder, gentler nation- quite the reverse. And Trump, as you keep telling us, has no ability to push constructive programs through congress. Nor would you, if you were POTUS, because congress does not want constructive programs, it wants pork barrel programs.
The point, again, is that the fundamental institutions of government have been captured and corrupted, and not just recently- they have had plenty of time to create their own culture and protect themselves against outsiders. If the situation is going to be fixed, it is going to happen through actions outside the institutions of government and education that support the status quo. And that's likely to be ugly.

 

[Hypoxia]

That is no answer. You asked the question, what would you do as POTUS? But you have no answer.

That's right, because I ain't POTUS. Whew. That's why I asked how y'all here would deal with the national security establishment if you *were* POTUS.

No, I don't think firing lots of deskhogs, and shutting down production lines carefully sited in as many vote-critical congressional districts as possible, will be in the national interest. I posed that as a very Trompian solution. Yah, shrinking the security bureaucracy would be a good start. But that requires objectively evaluating people and results, which is work, which this POTUS avoids. He's not much on objectivity either.

So, if you were there, what would you do?

 

[DrDelirium]

That's right, because I ain't POTUS. Whew. That's why I asked how y'all here would deal with the national security establishment if you *were* POTUS.

No, I don't think firing lots of deskhogs, and shutting down production lines carefully sited in as many vote-critical congressional districts as possible, will be in the national interest. I posed that as a very Trompian solution. Yah, shrinking the security bureaucracy would be a good start. But that requires objectively evaluating people and results, which is work, which this POTUS avoids. He's not much on objectivity either.

So, if you were there, what would you do?

Well, like yourself, I am not there, so there's no need to answer, correct?
In any case, I've already indicated that I don't believe that POTUS can do much of anything important without a great deal of active support within the institutions or even greater support outside the institutions. He had an opportunity when he came to office to build the second kind of support with executive orders that would actually fulfill many of his campaign promises. but he didn't do it, and the handful of actions he did take were resolutely thwarted- like his travel ban. So it's questionable whether there were any actions he could have taken that would not have been similarly thwarted, since he has no base in congress or the courts. Now he's even lost his base within the White House itself, so I have no expectations of him doing anything to distinguish himself from his predecessors- or Hillary, for that matter.

 

[sr71plt]

From the get go Trump falsely thought that an inequality quirk in the election system that gave him a technical win meant that the country wanted what he promised to his jackass supporters. The majority of Americans didn't want that then and they don't want that--or him--now.