DOD Panel: Next President to 'Likely' to Face Crisis in First 270 Days (9/11, enemies)

[delusianne]

So sorry Repugs, Biden was right

The next president is likely to face a major international crisis within his first nine months in office, according to a senior group of business advisers to the defense secretary.

Accordingly, the Defense Business Board says the new administration should set a goal to win Senate confirmation of key Pentagon posts in the first 30 days of the inauguration, in order to have a full team in place to deal with such a contingency.

Michael Bayer, chairman of the Defense Business Board and veteran Pentagon consultant, this week called for the next administration to move quickly to avoid encountering civilian leadership vacuums that often accompany political transitions.

“Prepare for a likely first 270 days crisis,” Bayer warns in an Oct. 23 briefing. “Too many presidents were ill prepared for this.”

Joe Biden, the Democratic ticket's vice presidential nominee, drew criticism earlier this week for suggesting that should he and Barack Obama prevail in the Nov. 4 election, U.S. adversaries will mount an attack of some kind to test the new president.

InsideDefense.com NewsStand: The Insider (http://defensenewsstand.com/insider.asp?issue=10242008sp - broken link)

[cohdane]

This is grim news. What a crappy year 2009 could be....no matter who gets elected.

Invest in beer. We're all going to need some.

[Ironclad]

Sad thing is the stupid looking boy with ears isn't qualified. All of these guys say so, don't just take my word for it.
300 Retired Generals And Admirals Endorse John McCain For President and four former secretaries of state

McCain's supporters:

# Rear Admiral John W. Adams, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Patrick O. Adams, USAF (Ret.)
# Major General Albert B. Akers, USA (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Paul Albritton, USA (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Richard Allen, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral James F. Amerault, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Vincent J. Anzilotti, USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Charlie Bagnal, USA (Ret.)
# Brigadier General John “Doc” Bahnsen, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Kenneth P. Barausky, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Barry D. Bates, USA (Ret.)
# Major General Ron Beckwith, USMC (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Martin R. Berndt, USMC (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Charles L. Bishop, USAF (Ret.)
# Major General John Blatsos, USA (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Ben Blaz, USMC (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Harry Blot, USMC (Ret.)
# Brigadier General William A. “Art” Bloomer, USMC (Ret.)
# Major General John L. Borling, USAF (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Mike Bowman, III, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Roger Box, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Patrick Brady, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Jerry Breast, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Bruce Bremner, USA (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Jeremiah Brophy, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Thomas Brown, III, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Richard A. Browning, USAF (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Tom Bruner, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Lyle Bull, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral E.A. Burkhalter, Jr., USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Jay Campbell, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Jim Carey, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Jimmy Cash, USAF (Ret.)
# Major General George Cates, USMC (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Steve Chadwick, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Steve Clarey, USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Albert P. Clark, USAF (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Clifton “Tip” Clark, USAF (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Wes Clark, USAF (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Edward Clexton, Jr., USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Richard A. Coleman, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Leroy Collins, Jr., USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General John B. Conaway, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Ralph Cook, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Richard M. Cooke, USMC (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Matthew T. “Terry” Cooper, USMC (Ret.)
# Major General Mike Coyne, USMC (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Robert C. Crates, USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Howard, Jr. Crowell, USA (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Robert Dastin, USAF (Ret.)
# General James B. Davis, USAF (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Walter J. Davis, Jr., USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral James P. Davidson, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Hollis Davidson, USMC (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Kevin Delaney, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Jerry Denton, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Chip Diehl, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Richard F. Donnelly, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Frank Donovan, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Bill Dougherty, USN (Ret.)
# Major General George Douglas, USAF (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Walter D. Druen, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Phillip J. Duffy, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Richard M. Dunleavy, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Robert F. Dunn, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral James W. Eastwood, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral James E. Eckelberger, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Russ Eggers, USAF (Ret.)
# Major General James N. Ellis, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Paul Engel, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Bill Eshelman, USMC (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Marsha Johnson Evans, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Merrill Evans, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral James H. Flatley, III, USN (Ret.)
# Admiral S. Robert Foley, USN (Ret.)
# General John W. Foss, USA (Ret.)
# Major General Stuart French, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Ronne Froman, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Vance H. Fry, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Robert Byron Fuller, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Skip Furlong, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Barton Gilbert, USA (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Wendell Gilbert, USA (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Hank Giffin, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Andrew Giordano, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Rick Goddard, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Ted Gordon, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Russell W. Gorman, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral H.E. “Rick” Grant, USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Thomas N. Griffin, USA (Ret.)
# Major General Jeffery R. Grime, USAF (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Tom Hall, USAF (Ret.)
# Admiral Ronald J. Hays, USN (Ret.)
# Admiral Thomas B. Hayward, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Guy Hecker, USAF (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Rolland Heiser, USA (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral **** Herr, USCG (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Robert P. Hickey, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Geoffrey Higginbotham, USMC (Ret.)
# Major General Don Hilbert, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Virgil Hill, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Kent Hillhouse, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Edward J. “Ned” Hogan, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral A. Byron Holderby, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Grant T. Hollett, Jr., USN (Ret.)
# Admiral James L. Holloway, USN (Ret.)
# Major General William Hoover, USAF (Ret.)
# General Charles A. “Chuck” Horner, USAF (Ret.)
# Brigadier General James Hourin, USAF (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Jefferson D. Howell, Jr., USMC (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General John I. Hudson, USMC (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral James D. Hull, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Evan Hultman, USA (Ret.)
# Major General Charles A. Ingram, USA (Ret.)
# Admiral Bobby R. Inman, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Harry Jenkins, USMC (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Ronald H. Jesberg, USN (Ret.)
# Admiral Gregory G. “Grog” Johnson, USN (Ret.)
# Admiral Jerome Johnson, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral J. Michael “Carlos” Johnson, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Steve Kantrowitz, USNR (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Douglas Katz, USN (Ret.)
# General P.X. Kelley, USMC (Ret.)
# Admiral Robert J. “Barney” Kelly, USN (Ret.)
# Admiral Frank B. Kelso II, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral John Kerr, USNR (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Claude M. “Mick” Kicklighter, USA (Ret.)
# Major General Phillip G. Killey, USAF (Ret.)
# Admiral George E.R. “Gus” Kinnear II, USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Jack W. Klimp, USMC (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Hal Koenig, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Alexander J. Krekich, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Ed Kristensen, USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Derald Lary, USAF (Ret.)
# Admiral Charles R. “Chuck” Larson, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Rufus C. Lazzell, USA (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Ward M. LeHardy, USA (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Tony Less, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Frederick L. Lewis, USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Frank Libutti, USMC (Ret.)
# Brigadier General William Lindaman, USAF (Ret.)
# General James J. Lindsay, USA (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General James E. Livingston, USMC (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral James W. Lisanby, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Dan Locker, USAF (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Stephen Loftus, USN (Ret.)
# General John Michael Loh, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Noah H. Long, USNR (Ret.)
# Admiral Joseph Lopez, USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Mike Luecke, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch, USN (Ret.)
# Admiral James A. “Ace” Lyons, Jr., USN (Ret.)
# General Robert Magnus, USMC (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Michael D. Malone, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Daniel P. March, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Edward H. Martin, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral John J. Mazach, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Dan McCarthy, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral William “Scot” McCauley, USN (Ret.)
# Major General James C. McCombs, USAF (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Fred McCorkle, USMC (Ret.)
# Major General Billy McCoy, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Bill McDaniel, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Craig O. McDonald, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral E.S. “Skip” McGinley, II, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Denny McGinn, USN (Ret.)
# Admiral Kinnard R. McKee, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Ed Mechenbier, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral George Meinig, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Robert L. Menist, USA (Ret.)
# Major General Stuart D. Menist, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral William F. Merlin, USCG (Ret.)
# Admiral Paul David Miller, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Robert W. Mixon, Jr., USA (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Joseph Mobley, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Patrick D. Moneymaker, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Benjamin Montoya, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Charles J. Moore, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Douglas Moore, Jr., USN (Ret.)
# Major General W. Bruce Moore, USA (Ret.)
# Major General Warren Moore, USAF (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Joseph P. Moorer, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Paul Moses, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Paul Mulloy, USN (Ret.)
# Major General William L. Mundie, USA (Ret.)
# General Carl E. Mundy, Jr., USMC (Ret.)
# Major General Terry Murray, USMC (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Hank Mustin, USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Carol Mutter, USMC (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Jack Natter, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Jerry Neff, USA (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Mike Neil, USMCR (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Robert Henry Neitz, USAF (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Ben Nelson, Jr., USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Ed Nelson, USCG (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Warren “Bud” Nelson, USAF (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Eddie Newman, USA (Ret.)
# Major General George W. Norwood, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Jacqueline “Jackie” O’Meara, USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Ira C. “Chuck” Owens, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Robert S. “Rupe” Owens, USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Dave Palmer, USA (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Robert V. Paschon, USAF (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Ellis D. “Don” Parker, USA (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Ted Parker, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Earl G. Peck, USAF (Ret.)
# Major General John Peppers, USA (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Maurice Phillips, USA (Ret.)
# Major General Paul A. Pochara, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral David Polatty, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Thomas J. Porter, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Noel G. Preston, USN (Ret.)
# Admiral Joseph W. Prueher, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Bill Raines, USA (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral William E. Ramsey, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral William Retz, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Jon A. Reynolds, USAF (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral David C. Richardson, USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Thomas M. Rienzi, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Stewart Andrew Ring, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Steve Ritchie, USAF (Ret.)
# Major General James Milnor Roberts, Jr., USA (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral David B. Robinson, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Bill Roll, USA (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Wayne Rosenthal, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Pete Rots, USCG (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Ed Rowny, USA (Ret.)
# Major General Michael D. Ryan, USMC (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral John R. Ryan, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Luciano C. Salamone, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Jim Schear, USNR (Ret.)
# Major General Carl G. Schneider, USAF (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Dennis Schulstad, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Hugh Scott, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral James E. Service, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Bill Shawcross, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Edward D. “Ted” Sheafer, Jr., USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Mike Sheridan, USMC (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Robert F. “Dutch” Shoultz, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Robert H. Shumaker, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Bruce Smith, USN (Ret.)
# Admiral Leighton “Snuffy” Smith, Jr., USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Norman Smith, USMC (Ret.)
# Major General Richard D. Smith, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Robert (Bob) Smith, III, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Stan Smith, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Roy D. Snyder, USN (Ret.)
# Major General J.R. Spalding, USAF (Ret.)
# Major General Stanhope S. Spears, Adjutant General, South Carolina
# Major General Ralph Spraker, USAF (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Bill Spruance, USAF (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Hank Stackpole, USMC (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral James Stark, USN (Ret.)
# General Carl Stiner, USA (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Edward M. Straw, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Ansel M. Stroud, USA (Ret.)
# Major General Willam A. Studder, USAF (Ret.)
# Major General Leroy N. Suddath, USA (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General Gordon Sumner, Jr., USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Paul E. Sutherland, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Bob Sutton, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Jeremy Taylor, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Jimmie Taylor, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Robert C. Taylor, USAF (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral William E. Terry, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Deese Thompson, USCG (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Howie Thorsen, USCG (Ret.)
# Major General Harold Timboe, M.D., USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Ernest E. Tissot, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Robert F. Titus, USAF (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral John B. Totushek, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Rockly Triantafellu, USAF (Ret.)
# Admiral Carlyle A. H. Trost, USN (Ret.)
# Vice Admiral Jerry Unruh, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Alfred A. Valenzuela, USA (Ret.)
# Major General Paul Vallely, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Lloyd “Joe” Vasey, USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General John Vines, USA (Ret.)
# Major General John G. “Jack” Waggener, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Edward K. Walker, Jr., USN (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General John F. Wall, USA (Ret.)
# Brigadier General W.L. “Bill” Wallace, USA (Ret.)
# Admiral James D. Watkins, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Gary Wattnem, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Donald Weatherson, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Hugh Webster, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Arvid E. West, USA (Ret.)
# Major General Drax Williams, USMC (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General James A. Williams, USA (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Mitchell M. Willoughby, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Dennis Wisely, USN (Ret.)
# Major General Herbert E. Wolff, USA (Ret.)
# Major General John J. Womack, USA (Ret.)
# Major General Dan Wood, USA (Ret.)
# Lieutenant General John W. Woodmansee, USA (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral George Worthington, USN (Ret.)
# Rear Admiral Earl P. Yates, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Allan R. Zenotwitz, USA (Ret.)
# Admiral Ronald J. Zlatoper, USN (Ret.)
# Brigadier General Mitchell M. Zais, USA (Ret.)

[delusianne]

Well, theyve been preparing:

For months, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the service chiefs and the Joint Staff have been preparing for the first wartime transfer of Pentagon political authority in four decades. In addition to identifying defense policy issues for an incoming to understand, the military is also on high operational alert, according to a Joint Staff official.

...
And it wont be new or unique for the next admin. The article mentions crises in the early days for Eisenhower, JFK, Johnson, Nixon, and of course 9/11.

[kidicarus89]

Originally Posted by delusianne

And it wont be new or unique for the next admin. The article mentions crises in the early days for Eisenhower, JFK, Johnson, Nixon, and of course 9/11.

Exactly. And 9/11 wasn't even Bush's first test. Remember the incident when one of our recon planes collided with a Chinese fighter jet?

Seems almost quaint by today's standards.

[delusianne]

Originally Posted by Ironclad

Sad thing is the stupid looking boy with ears isn't qualified. All of these guys say so, don't just take my word for it.
300 Retired Generals And Admirals Endorse John McCain For President and four former secretaries of state

McCain's supporters:

I'm sure as honorable military officers, and not crybaby civilians, they'll respect their president and help their country to succeed in every way they can.

[njchick]

Originally Posted by delusianne

I'm sure as honorable military officers, and not crybaby civilians, they'll respect their president and help their country to succeed in every way they can.

Yes, I'm sure they will stand behind John McCain.

[paperhouse]

In case anyone hasn't noticed, every other day is a crisis in the stock market. It's not like the next President will be able to spend weeks on vacation clearing brush at his ranch.

[Ironclad]

Originally Posted by delusianne

I'm sure as honorable military officers, and not crybaby civilians, they'll respect their president and help their country to succeed in every way they can.

Yes, hopefully they would throw the boy a bone and tell him to **** and sit in the corner and let the Americans handle the problem.

As in the movie Braveheart, Longshanks threw the gay lover Phillip out the window (3:18 mark) is what the Top Brass would do to Ayres.

[Mike from back east]

Doesn't matter who is elected, the enemies will probe and prod and do their best to be disruptive.

The issue is, who is best able to deal with it:
- A hot tempered old doofus who shoots from the hip before he thinks or confers with his staff, and thinks he has all the answers.
- An even tempered man who quickly develops a viable response based on the input of very wise people.