Former Secretary of Defense under George Bush and Barack Obama Robert Gates feels “double-crossed” by Obama over his promise not to gut the defense budget.
When asked by Fox whether Obama kept to his word, Gates replied, “Well I think that began to fray. ‘Fray’ may be too gentle a word.”
According to the report, Gates was told to cut hundreds of billions of dollars from the defense budget after already having slashed it.
“I guess I’d have to say I felt double-crossed,” Gates said. “After all those years in Washington, I was naïve.”
The former defense secretary added that he advised Obama to slow the cuts to the military because it would endanger U.S. troops.
“I think he acknowledged that what I was pitching at a minimum was, ‘The world doesn’t seem to be getting better. Before you head down a path of deep cuts in defense, why don’t you take it kind of slow,’ ” he said. “You know it was one of those things where I lost the argument.”
Fox also spoke with former Gen. Michael Flynn, who served as the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency under Obama.
“Frankly, the United States of America is in a less strong position today because of the readiness and the size of our armed forces,” Flynn said.
You have to wonder how widespread the following observation by General Flynn is among military leaders:
“I think he sees the military actually as something that is more dangerous to the world,” Flynn added. “I think that he looks at the United States military and sees it as a threatening application around the world, than actually as a useful tool.”
You can apply that observation to Obama’s entire view of the U.S. role in international affairs. He is the first president in U.S. history to not see the U.S. as a force for good in the world. His constant groveling and glad-handing with murderous thugs and dictators and his numerous, humiliating apologies may please his lefty base in the U.S. and radicals around the world, but a president is supposed to stand up for American interests, not apologize for defending them.
The damage Obama has done to our international standing might be applauded by those overseas who need a weak America to advance their agendas. But to those who rely on American strength, we already see them making other arrangements to protect themselves.
A version of this piece also appeared at The American Thinker
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