OPINION:
To remedy the strategic dereliction of President Barack Obama, prospective President Donald Trump should, at 1201 hours on Jan. 20, 2017, immediately after taking his oath to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, yet prior to his Inaugural Address, publicly sign an order directing the Departments of Defense and Energy to upload multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV) into all deployed nuclear delivery systems, to redeploy nuclear-armed land attack cruise missiles onto nuclear-capable ships and attack submarines, and to fast track the development and deployment of nuclear-capable hyper glide vehicles. This will buy strategic space allowing America to rebuild her conventional and nuclear forces.
Jonathan Gruber admitted to lying to the “stupid” American voters to ram Obamacare down our throats. Mr. Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes didn’t only admit to lying, but bragged about it, “we created an echo chamber” to publicize Mr. Obama’s Iranian nuclear deal.
Whether Obamacare, the Iran nuclear “deal,” Benghazi, the Obama White House has lied while waging a continuous influence campaign against the American citizenry. Did the Obama propaganda machine use a similar influence campaign while lobbying for the New START nuclear weapons reduction treaty?
New START has proven as disastrous as Obamacare. On the 2011 effective date of the New START Treaty Russia reported it had only 1537 warheads on 521 delivery vehicles. As recently as Oct. 1, 2016, Russia reported having 1796 strategic nuclear weapons on 847 delivery vehicles, i.e. a 259 nuclear warhead increase and a 246 nuclear weapon surplus above the New START limit of 1550 strategic nuclear weapons. The U.S., on the 2011 New START effective date, possessed 1800 strategic nuclear weapons on 882 delivery vehicles. In spite of Russia exceeding New START nuclear weapon limits, the occupation of part of Ukraine and her nuclear weapons modernization program, as well as China’s nuclear weapons buildup, Mr. Obama has reduced the U.S. margin of security to 1367 strategic nuclear warheads on 848 delivery vehicles, at least 183 warheads below New START and 429 warheads less than Russia this also fails to take China’s nuclear warheads into account.
Why would Mr. Obama negotiate a treaty enabling Russia to increase its deployed strategic nuclear weapons while compelling the U.S. to negate a strategic balance using a treaty that enters into force two years after Mr. Obama’s term?
According to former Pennsylvania Rep. Curt Weldon, President Bill Clinton, during May 2000, attempted to cut deployed U.S. nuclear weapons in half, to between 1000 and 1500. Mr. Weldon was warned by Pentagon officials that Clinton, as part of a “presidential nuclear initiative” was going to use his executive authority to reduce the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Mr. Weldon said, “I am dismayed and alarmed that the Clinton administration would be proposing unilateral action on the part of the U.S. that could undermine both America’s security and the strategic balance between the United States and Russia.”
A recently leaked audio recording from February 2016 of Hillary Clinton being questioned on the Long Range Stand-Off (LRSO) cruise missile program by Andy Weber, leads nuclear strategists to question whether Mrs. Clinton will be even more reckless with America’s nuclear deterrent. Mr. Weber, referring to the LRSO asked her, “Will you cancel this program if President Obama doesn’t in the next 11 months and lead the world in a ban on this particularly destabilizing, dangerous type of nuclear weapon?” Mrs. Clinton replied she would be “inclined” to do so, “The last thing we need are sophisticated cruise missiles that are nuclear armed.” She does not appreciate these standoff weapons will save the lives of Air Force pilots?
Mrs. Clinton deserves significant blame for the New START debacle that was negotiated on her watch. Mrs. Clinton’s State Department approved the sale of Uranium One after the Clinton Foundation received a $145 million payoff from its shareholders. Mrs. Clinton’s pay-for-play scheme was a major contributing factor that resulted in Uranium One being sold to Russia’s state atomic energy agency, Rosatom. Mrs. Clinton’s dereliction resulted in Russia controlling 20 percent of the U.S. uranium stockpile.
Should Mr. Trump be elected, his national security staff will likely be asking after reviewing the Department of Defense’s operations plans, “What were they thinking?” When asked, the combatant commanders will likely say, “These were the objectives we were given by President Obama and his national security staff.”
The case has been made that President Obama, Mr. Clinton, and Mrs. Clinton, have been completely derelict in mismanaging the nation’s strategic deterrent. Mr. Obama and both Clintons are committed to a pattern of misconduct and disarmament that is gravely damaging to the strategic interests of the United States.
Nuclear weapons are an unpleasant topic, however, we must admit that possessing them has prevented strategic attacks on the homeland and world wars for more than 70 years. Should the U.S. come under strategic attack, the president will need a conference call with the commander of the nation’s nuclear forces, who will in turn present the president a variety of strike options. During the next minutes the president will have to decide among several strike options.
Are you going to vote for Mr. Trump who is able to decide between difficult options, and is willing to place America’s nuclear deterrent on an upwards trajectory? Or are you going to vote for Mrs. Clinton who may answer “I can’t recall”?
• Kevin Smith is a retired U.S. Air Force officer. The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not do not reflect those of the U.S. Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other U.S. government organization.
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