Former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld recently warned that American military and financial weakness is creating a more dangerous and unstable world. Rumsfeld also said the U.S. government, both Congress and the executive branch, is dysfunctional and ill-suited for the information age.

A major target of the former defense chief are plans by the Obama administration to cut $487 billion from the Pentagon over 10 years. The potential for an additional $600 billion in cuts looming through the congressional process called equestration is also worrying America’s friends and allies, he said.

I am glad to hear someone speaking out for the military. Not only are we cutting $1 trillion  from the defense budget, the Whitehouse is using the military to advance its green energy, social engineering and global warming initiatives. 

For example, the U.S. Navy, which has been forced to reduce its fleet size to reduce cost, has been ordered to purchase 450,000 gallons of “bio fuel” for its fleet. The fuel costs $15 a gallon, almost four times the cost of petroleum based fuel. So basically, we are using Navy money to subsidize green energy projects.

The U.S. Army is celebrating “gay pride” month and Catholic chaplains are forbidden from reading in Sunday masses a Catholic letter opposing the controversial Obamacare mandate. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta recently gave a speech in which he described how the “U.S. military will be called on for humanitarian assistance in the face of rising seas, longer droughts, and more frequent and severe natural disasters that are a result of global warming.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. Air Force responded to Russian strategic nuclear bombers that threatened U.S. airspace near Alaska last month and F-15 jets intercepted the aircraft. The Russians began large-scale arctic war games the same day President Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a frosty summit meeting in Mexico on June 18.  U.S. officials said the arctic exercises over the Russian Far East and Pacific appeared to be a further sign of Russia’s hardening posture toward the United States. On July 4, Russia sent us another message when Russian bombers were again intercepted by our fighters; this time near Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The Obama administration made no protest of the bomber intrusions, according to the officials, in line with its conciliatory “reset” policy.

As we downsize our armed forces and have them waste time, money and resources on social engineering, green energy and environmental projects, we will just have to get used to being kicked around by Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Syria or whoever else wants to thumb their noses at us. Until November, anyway.

Fred Johnson is a member of the Morgan County GOP.

Printed in the July 12, 2012 edition