CHILLING – AT 10:16 A.M. ET:  There's an old saying that diplomacy without military strength is like an orchestra without instruments.  Our military strength is being eroded by both the Obama administration and the refusal of Republicans in Congress to address the problem seriously.  Some Republicans are more concerned about the budget.  Even senior, on-duty officers are starting to speak out.  From the Military Times:   

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The Army is "only generating enough readiness for immediate consumption" while grappling with cuts that have left only a third of the service's brigades ready, the chief of staff said Wednesday.

"It's incumbent on all of us to understand that further reductions simply will put us into a place we simply cannot go," Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno said at the AUSA Institute of Land Warfare Global Force Symposium and Exposition here.

He amplified the dangers he sees now and ahead, particularly with the effects of sequestration.

"Today our nation is facing enormous challenges. I believe we are at a strategic inflection point," Odierno said. "Our nation is facing determined enemies across the globe that have the desire, the capabilities and with increasing capacity to threaten not only our security, but the security of our allies. We continue to witness change in velocity of instability, unforeseen just a few years ago."

He issued a challenge for the Army community to continue focusing on the importance of a strong national defense.

COMMENT:  We've been here before.  The gross negligence in the years leading up to World War II, the reckless disarmament after that war, the Jimmy Carter years.  Weakness always ends badly.  We thought we'd begun to learn that lesson in the later part of the 20th Century, but I'm afraid it's being forgotten. 

The great presidential symbol of American strength was Ronald Reagan, and he left office some 26 years ago.

April 6, 2015