Romney calls US Navy small

[ginscpy]

compared to the WW2 US Navy - guess it is

But we arent fighting the Japs

 

[tjvh]

compared to the WW2 US Navy - guess it is

But we arent fighting the Japs

Democrats have a habit of dismantling our Navy. Clinton saw fit to rid the Navy of Oilers (AO's) forcing ships like the USS Cole to refuel in places like Yemen... And we all know how that turned out.

 

[whitehall]

Come on lefties. You know that's a cheap shot.

 

[JakeStarkey]

The USN today would destroy the USN of 1945 with very little casualities to itself.

A heavy division today packs at least ten times the power of an armored division of 1945.

Why did Romney say anything so stupid?

 

[Oldguy]

compared to the WW2 US Navy - guess it is

But we arent fighting the Japs

Democrats have a habit of dismantling our Navy. Clinton saw fit to rid the Navy of Oilers (AO's) forcing ships like the USS Cole to refuel in places like Yemen... And we all know how that turned out.

DEMOCRATS have a habit of dismantling our Navy? Do tell! Check this out:

Between Sep. 30, 2001 and Sep. 30, 2008, George Bush reduced the size of the fleet from 316 active vessels to 282. And that was WHILE FIGHTING 2 WARS! (He did the same thing to the Air Force.)

US Ship Force Levels

Incidentally, the current President's plans call for raising the active vessels number to over 300 again, with a construction program producing an average of 13 new ships per year. They're all on the ways right now, in various stages of construction.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

compared to the WW2 US Navy - guess it is

But we arent fighting the Japs

Obama talked about nuclear subs like they will help deal with threats in the Middle East. I am willing to bet you that there will never be another full blown naval war again, which makes the submarine fleet virtually useless.

 

[JakeStarkey]

Which has nothing to do with the discussion. Our navy is full capable of handling any grouping of potential allies. Obama is increasing at 13 ships plus a year. There is no worry here, folks.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

Which has nothing to do with the discussion. Our navy is full capable of handling any grouping of potential allies. Obama is increasing at 13 ships plus a year. There is no worry here, folks.

Fakey is still campaigning for Obama over Romney.

 

[JakeStarkey]

I voted early for Romney today, but I am far more an American than a party man, though I have spent almost forty years in the GOP. Win or Lose, the leadership is going after the unAmerican far right this time with a vengeance.

 

[Borillar]

compared to the WW2 US Navy - guess it is

But we arent fighting the Japs

Obama talked about nuclear subs like they will help deal with threats in the Middle East. I am willing to bet you that there will never be another full blown naval war again, which makes the submarine fleet virtually useless.

How can you argue that a full blown naval war is unlikely and at the same time argue that we need some huge fleet? For what purpose? What threat?

The Navy we currently have is adequate to protect our coasts and to project power nearly anywhere in the world.

Submarines are hardly "useless". They can roam coastal waters undetected. They can launch conventional or nuclear cruise missiles. They can carry and introduce spec-ops personnel. A few of our attack subs could take out the entire Chinese Navy.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

compared to the WW2 US Navy - guess it is

But we arent fighting the Japs

Obama talked about nuclear subs like they will help deal with threats in the Middle East. I am willing to bet you that there will never be another full blown naval war again, which makes the submarine fleet virtually useless.

How can you argue that a full blown naval war is unlikely and at the same time argue that we need some huge fleet? For what purpose? What threat?

The Navy we currently have is adequate to protect our coasts and to project power nearly anywhere in the world.

Submarines are hardly "useless". They can roam coastal waters undetected. They can launch conventional or nuclear cruise missiles. They can carry and introduce spec-ops personnel. A few of our attack subs could take out the entire Chinese Navy.

First, I haven't argued for a huge fleet, neither has the Navy.

Second, the role of the Navy is to be able to project American power to parts of the world we cannot otherwise reach. Obama wants to pivot focus to the Asian/Pacific. We cannot do that without the Navy and the Air Force, something Romney stressed during the debate. We need a minimum force level to meet the projected role of the Navy and the Air force, we don't have that. What are we supposed to do when the unexpected occurs?

 

[waltky]

China Will Have Nuclear Subs in 2 Years...

China submarines to soon carry nukes, draft U.S. report says
WASHINGTON | Thu Nov 8, 2012 - New subs could be deployed within 2 years

China appears to be within two years of deploying submarine-launched nuclear weapons, adding a new leg to its nuclear arsenal that should lead to arms-reduction talks, a draft report by a congressionally mandated U.S. commission says. China in the meantime remains "the most threatening" power in cyberspace and presents the largest challenge to U.S. supply chain integrity, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said in a draft of its 2012 report to the U.S. Congress.

The deployment of a hard-to-track, submarine-launched leg of China's nuclear arsenal could have significant consequences in East Asia and beyond. It also could add to tensions between the United States and China, the world's two biggest economies. Any Chinese effort to ensure a retaliatory capability against a U.S. nuclear strike "would necessarily affect Indian and Russian perceptions about the potency of their own deterrent capabilities vis-à-vis China," the report said, for instance. That means China must "complete military mechanization and make major progress in full military IT (information technology) application by 2020," he said.

To address a wide variety of security threats, "we must make major progress in modernizing national defense and the armed forces," Hu said. China is alone among the original nuclear weapons states to be expanding its nuclear forces, the report said. The others are the United States, Russia, Britain and France. Beijing is "on the cusp of attaining a credible nuclear triad of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, and air-dropped nuclear bombs," the report says. China has had a largely symbolic ballistic missile submarine capability for decades but is only now set to establish a "near-continuous at-sea strategic deterrent," the draft said.

Chinese President Hu Jintao has made it a priority to modernize the country's navy. China launched its first aircraft carrier, purchased from Ukraine and then refurbished, in September. "Building strong national defense and powerful armed forces that are commensurate with China's international standing and meet the needs of its security and development interests is a strategic task of China's modernization drive," Hu said in a speech on Thursday at the opening of the Chinese Communist Party's once-every-five-years congress.

ARMS CONTROL TALKS URGED

 

[mamooth]

It comes down to what the mission of the Navy should be. Is it to support the empire and play world policeman? I'd argue the Navy's mission is to protect US shores and keep the sea lanes to the USA open. And the force structure is wrong for that. We need more Coast Guard, and a few less big carriers.

Now attack subs, they're the new capital ships, the equivalent of battleships. An actual naval war would be subs vs. subs and everything else, so you better have some subs. In the Falklands war, one English sub kept the Argentine fleet stuck in port. The single Argentine diesel boat didn't get close enough to make a hit, but the whole dang British fleet was kept very busy chasing that single sub.

 

[Ravi]

compared to the WW2 US Navy - guess it is

But we arent fighting the Japs

How's it going? I'm kind of amazed that you haven't committed suicide.

 

[Mad Scientist]

compared to the WW2 US Navy - guess it is

But we arent fighting the Japs

How's it going? I'm kind of amazed that you haven't committed suicide.

Japs!