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(Stars and Stripes) Biden says US must maintain small force in Middle East, has no plans for major Defense cuts

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876


www.stripes.com

Biden says US must maintain small force in Middle East, has no plans for major Defense cuts

In an interview with Stars and Stripes, Former Vice President Joe Biden said that, despite the ongoing operations abroad and increased government spending, he does not foresee major cuts to the Pentagon budget.
www.stripes.com www.stripes.com

In fact, he said defense spending could increase in a Biden Administration.

"I don't think [budget cuts] are inevitable, but we need priorities in the budget," Biden said.
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Biden said, however, that the Defense Department desperately needs to innovate in emerging technology such as beefing up its cyberwarfare capabilities and unmanned aircraft.

"We have to focus more on unmanned capacity, cyber and IT, in a very modern world that is changing rapidly," Biden said. "I've met with a number of my advisors and some have suggested in certain areas the budget is going to have to be increased."

Should he become commander in chief, Biden said he would press for an inclusive military able to maintain its dominant position as the world's most powerful force.

He has vowed to better equip the National Guard, which often trains and deploys with outdated equipment and has said transgender people should be able to openly serve in the military.
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mugurumakensei

mugurumakensei

Elizabeth, I’m coming to join you!
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Oct 25, 2017
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Eh, we need to increase the budget for cyber security and IT in the military. Cyber warfare is getting more advanced and tech salaries aren't cheap.
 
Transistor

Transistor

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Oct 25, 2017
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He says certain areas and goes on to explain how cyberdefense needs more focus, which is right. That doesn't mean that it can't be decreased in other areas.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
Transistor said:
He says certain areas and goes on to explain how cyberdefense needs more focus, which is right. That doesn't mean that it can't be decreased in other areas.
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He doesn't mention decreasing other areas. He does mention increasing ones though!
 
mugurumakensei

mugurumakensei

Elizabeth, I’m coming to join you!
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Oct 25, 2017
11,330
Psychoward said:
Ok but then we can decrease the military budget for other areas.
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he didn't say we wouldn't. Overall spending might increase cause it's a massive unknown how much cyber security expenditures will be. He does talk about ramping down the amount of troops stationed in the Middle East and ending the forever wars which would cut down on that budget.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
Eeyore

Eeyore

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mugurumakensei said:
Eh, we need to increase the budget for cyber security and IT in the military. Cyber warfare is getting more advanced and tech salaries aren't cheap.
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It'd be one thing if other budgets increased at the same rate and we ignored that the military budget is using American tax dollars to create weapons to kill people more efficiently. But we're not going to do that.

There is no reason for the budget to be so big, the defense of this country is only one of the many things the Constitution lays out as something the government owes its people.

Like where have you been? The military is just America's way to keep foreign black and brown people down like the police is to keep domestic black and brown people down.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
mugurumakensei said:
he didn't say we wouldn't. Overall spending might increase cause it's a massive unknown how much cyber security expenditures will be. He does talk about ramping down the amount of troops stationed in the Middle East and ending the forever wars which would cut down on that budget.
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He says he's ending the forever wars but keeping troops there. So. Lol.

I get that they can't all be pulled out immediately but it would be nice if he had a plan to promise a full withdrawal, he can't even commit to that.
 
console_logger

console_logger

Banned
Oct 28, 2018
573
I mean he said that certain areas (i.e. cybersecurity) would need to increase, which makes perfect sense to me. How the budget of these specific initiatives is increased is really what matters, whether it be through reallocation of current funds or through an increase in the total budget. There really isn't enough here to be upset about imo, we need more clarity before drawing conclusions.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
Eeyore said:
It'd be one thing if other budgets increased at the same rate and we ignored that the military budget is using American tax dollars to create weapons to kill people more efficiently. But we're not going to do that.

There is no reason for the budget to be so big, the defense of this country is only one of the many things the Constitution lays out as something the government owes its people.

Like where have you been? The military is just America's way to keep foreign black and brown people down like the police is to keep domestic black and brown people down.
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Yeah like... if Biden also didn't surround himself with deficit hawks and say he was concerned with the deficit I wouldnt care as much. We're gonna get budget cuts to essential shit while the military budget increases. Like every year.
 
Hellwarden

Hellwarden

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Oct 25, 2017
34,142
Biden said conditions in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq are so complicated that he cannot promise full withdrawal of troops in the near future.
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How many more years...do we have to be there before it become uncomplicated?

Like is a decade? Two decades?
 
TheMadTitan

TheMadTitan

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Oct 27, 2017
27,252
Psychoward said:
He says he's ending the forever wars but keeping troops there. So. Lol.

I get that they can't all be pulled out immediately but it would be nice if he had a plan to promise a full withdrawal, he can't even commit to that.
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Because that's a stupid thing to commit to two months before the election; that's just a talking point the GOP can use against him. Saying we're going to reinforce infrastructure so we're not constantly hacked -- something that's on top of mind for every parent given how many hacks schools have had alone since online learning started -- is another reassurance to benefit Biden.

We already saw Obama drawn down before the massive celestial fuckup that required the ISIS surge, so it's not hard to imagine there'd be another repeat of that strategy.

Eeyore said:
It'd be one thing if other budgets increased at the same rate and we ignored that the military budget is using American tax dollars to create weapons to kill people more efficiently. But we're not going to do that.

There is no reason for the budget to be so big, the defense of this country is only one of the many things the Constitution lays out as something the government owes its people.

Like where have you been? The military is just America's way to keep foreign black and brown people down like the police is to keep domestic black and brown people down.
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Everyone's aware, but we've just been through some of the shittiest four years in modern memory. It's best not to overreach in effort or criticism.

Trump has to lose first, then we can smash things until the budget gets deflated.
 
Mr. Keith

Mr. Keith

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Oct 31, 2017
1,942
Psychoward said:
Yeah like... if Biden also didn't surround himself with deficit hawks and say he was concerned with the deficit I wouldnt care as much. We're gonna get budget cuts to essential shit while the military budget increases. Like every year.
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You want to back that up with actual information or is this just your gut telling you?
 
GYODX

GYODX

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Oct 27, 2017
7,245
mugurumakensei said:
Eh, we need to increase the budget for cyber security and IT in the military. Cyber warfare is getting more advanced and tech salaries aren't cheap.
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Yup. I work as a Cybersecurity Engineer at a University-Affiliated Research Center, which is essentially a mix between a National Lab and a non-profit DoD contractor. The industry pull is HUGE, and it's almost impossible to match the market. It's challenging for us to retain talent, and our salaries are already pretty damn competitive. For reference, my own job offer for my current role was 20% higher than what the NSA was offering me.

Also: keep in mind that the discretionary budget is just 29% of the entire US budget, and the US defense budget--while objectively a huge number--is also inflated by service member pay and benefits. So even though China or Russia's military budgets might be smaller than the US's on an absolute basis, in a sense they are able to get more bang for their buck.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
TheMadTitan said:
Because that's a stupid thing to commit to two months before the election; that's just a talking point the GOP can use against him. Saying we're going to reinforce infrastructure so we're not constantly hacked -- something that's on top of mind for every parent given how many hacks schools have had alone since online learning started -- is another reassurance to benefit Biden.
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Yes having a policy in place to get Americans away from the middle east and back home would be a bad idea. Everybody just wants to stay there forever.
 
BringBackSonics

BringBackSonics

Member
Oct 27, 2017
45,276
Seattle
Psychoward said:
He says he's ending the forever wars but keeping troops there. So. Lol.

I get that they can't all be pulled out immediately but it would be nice if he had a plan to promise a full withdrawal, he can't even commit to that.
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I mean he explained all that. Draw down regular troops, keeping special ops there and coordinate with local governments for terror operations.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
Big_Blue said:
Why are you moving the goalposts? You intentionally posted a misleading thread title to further your anri-Biden agenda
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I'm not moving the goal posts. There is nothing misleading. Biden has said we might increase the military budget. That is a fact.

He said we should probably increase the budget in multiple areas. He has *never* said it should be decreased. Ever. Not in his words, not on his platform page.

So idk why people are thinking he's going to decrease it when there's literally no evidence of that. If you can find that on his platform page be my guest.
 
gogosox82

gogosox82

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Oct 25, 2017
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Transistor said:
He says certain areas and goes on to explain how cyberdefense needs more focus, which is right. That doesn't mean that it can't be decreased in other areas.
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He doesn't specifically state he would decrease it either so he's probably not going to decrease it since he's not on record saying "i will decrease the military budget in x area"
 

Deleted member 4346

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Biden wants to increase military funding. He wants to increase police funding. This is Republican Lite type shit, and he's done it for decades.
 
OP
OP

Deleted member 31817

Nov 7, 2017
30,876
TheMadTitan said:
Having a policy isn't a bad idea, providing an inescapable talking point for the Fox News/OAN/Newsmax crowd is the bad idea.
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The Fox News/OAN/Newsmax crowd are calling Biden a communist so I don't think we should cater our policies and ideas to what they think.
 
KoopaTheCasual

KoopaTheCasual

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Oct 27, 2017
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OP, why did you voluntarily choose to editorialize the headline?

Why not stick to less sensational, and real headline title?
 

Deleted member 23212

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And this is why I don't support Biden. Who cares about how he's the "most progressive" candidate, fuck you Biden for supporting the killing of innocents, and the facilitation of troops that inevitably leads to murder, rape and plundering. GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST, STOP FUCKING FIGHTING THESE WARS.
 

Deleted member 36054

Banned
Dec 12, 2017
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Psychoward said:
I'm not moving the goal posts. There is nothing misleading. Biden has said we might increase the military budget. That is a fact.

He said we should probably increase the budget in multiple areas. He has *never* said it should be decreased. Ever. Not in his words, not on his platform page.

So idk why people are thinking he's going to decrease it when there's literally no evidence of that. If you can find that on his platform page be my guest.
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The article points out that the budget will be prioritized including drawing back ground troops and boosting cyber defense. Not having major defense cuts =/= increasing the defense budget.
 
Emergency & I

Emergency & I

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Oct 27, 2017
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Ah yes, editorializing a complex issue into a perceptibly binary one - all in a misleading headline. That's some real garbage, OP.


Also, Biden is responding correctly, particularly in highlighting IT and cyberdefense.
 
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