Wednesday, 03.19.08
Bring the Presidency Back Down to Earth
Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images
The new Marine One is supposed to be able to jam seeking devices, avert or survive a missile attack, and resist the electromagnetic pulse generated by a nuclear blast. It will also offer 14 occupants secure videoconferencing, broadband access, a telephone at every (reclining) seat, and an “executive restroom.” Hundreds of other must-do’s from the White House have made the chopper 2,000 pounds overweight--and at $400 million each (more than the contracted cost of the 747s that serve as Air Force One), groaningly over budget.
The usual obscene cost overruns, however, are less disturbing than the mindset behind the idea of a whirling, invulnerable Oval Office in the sky. Being President of the United States is a risky business, especially these days. But democracies don’t need to protect one person at any cost, and shouldn’t. Despotic regimes must, and do. When a president is killed or incapacitated, another one seamlessly takes his place, following Article 2 and the 25th Amendment of the Constitution. That’s part of what makes democracies, and the United States, so resilient. And if a president feels a bit more acutely the vulnerabilities of his fellow citoyens, perhaps that might temper his or her behavior.
I’m not advocating that the president travel around by hang glider, but here’s an idea: let the White House spend double the cost ($57 million) of the military helicopter on which the new Marine One is based, and pass on the savings (from 23 helicopters) to allow the purchase of (by my calculations) more than 40,000 armored Humvees. Some day, some future president now serving on the ground may thank him.
Use a cheaper chopperThe pseudonymous Spook 86 explains how 9/11 changed the calculus around presidential helicopters, making the perfect the enemy of the good. |
Luxury featuresBrain Stuff lays out Marine One's specifications and hosts a video of it taking off. |
Dangerous spendingLeslie Wayne argues that runaway military spending and Pentagon waste is a threat to national security. |
Another troubled birdDavid Axe summarizes the controversy over the V-22 Osprey. |
Where does it end?Justin Logan asks how much defense spending is enough. |
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Get the f* outta here!
How much!?
It's actually rather cheap. A good price would have been whatever these puppies cost times 3 or 4. It's about showing who is the lord and master. 40.000 armored humvees? Pussy! The life of the grunt on the ground means nothing but a potential for a name on a memorial when the shooting stops [if ever].
In a country where medical care is becoming a privilege for the rich a chopper for 400 million bucks a pop is the very least the president can do for himself.
These helicopters send the perfect message to the American people about who is where on the totem pole and why.
Egregiously wrong analysis.
When the author actually proves that there is a negative causality between a well-protected commander in chief and well-protected private, then his demagogic sophistry will have validity.
But hey if we are going to play demagogue lets go all the way. Why not get rid of the secret service and the locks at the White House and buy even more Humvees? For as James Gibson tell us "if the president is killed or incapacitated, another one seamlessly takes his place, following Article 2 and the 25th Amendment of the Constitution." Seamlessly? Seamlessly!
Here Here. It's about time we returned to being a nation of laws and not individuals. And while were at it we should stop refereing to ex presidents as, 'Mr. President'. They are not. They should return to, thier farms, and being a citizen again. We have fiorgotten where we came from.
Does someone actually pay Gibney to write such tripe, or does he have to pay them to publish it? At least he is consistent. If it deals with the military, it MUST be evil, right James?
This is hardly a military acquisition, although they are tasked with trying to figure out how to jam 10 pounds of 'good ideas' into a five pound bag and then get it to fly. Thank the Presidential advisers for this silliness. If the military PM ever pulls off a miracle and fields this monster he will deserve a medal!
Luis A. del Valle above hit the nail on the head. But he forgot, let's ground the Air Force 747 fleet too and let the Prez fly commercial. Give him a cell phone to talk, if he must to someone not on board. Just think of all the medical care we can give away then with the money saved, right?
Such silliness! As we slip "seamlessly" from Presidents to the next guy we can then be so proud. Although we can't protect the guy, we can be happy with how egalitarian we are ... pardon me while I throw up.
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Armored HUMVEEs were a political band-aid and never offered adequate force protection. My son died in 2006 after a molten copper projectile hit his HUMVEE. The inspector general, Department of Defense, reported to our family that: "Our analysis showed that the various commands took appropriate steps to provide the soldiers on this mission with vehicles possessing the best protective capability available at the time of the attack."
The DOD is in the process of spending $20 billion to purchase a fleet of 20-ton behemoths known as MRAPs. However, the Army and the Marines refused to make those purchases until last year on the grounds that Iraq was intended to be a quick and economical campaign.
HUMVEEs are merely general utility vehicles. They aren't and never were the answer to force protection in a no-front war such as Iraq.
Stephen Castner
Posted by Stephen L. Castner | March 19, 2008 3:47 PM