Outsourcing our military needs?

[Adex_Xeda]

http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServe ... 2571727085

Notice the last line of this article.

It appears that we need to go international to find enough people to manufacture our military's bullet supply.

Shouldn't something like this be DOMESTIC?

Depending on the outside world for your own bullets can only bite you in the ass at some point in the future.

[Bubba Grizz]

If we are running short in Iraq, does that mean that the Iraqis are almost out as well? Or are we just really shitty shots?

[Kylere]

You know I agree that buying your ammo from a foreign source is like hiring barbarians to be your army, and look what that did for the Romans.

I am not surprised to hear of it however, when I was in Europe it was a well known fact that USAREUR (United States Army Europe) only had a 3 day supply of ammo in case of a full fledged Soviet attack. It was reasoned that at the end of three days we would have air superiority, and that REFORGER (Return of Forces to Germany) would kick in in terms of personnel, ammo etc arriving from the states.

[Zaelath]

Well, you don't have to buy a bullet's allegiance..

There's not much indication where you would be buying them either, if it's all about buying ammunition from allies where's the harm in that? I realise you would prefer to be isolationists, but even the US would have difficulties if everyone else in the world was against them.

I would have thought a far greater concern was having so much of the world's oil controlled by enemies..

[Vetiria]

Making bullets? Who cares...

Something like US border security should be done domestically.

[Ebumar]

Can you please post that in a general link, or copy/paste it to here? I can't view it because I have to sign up for yahoo - something I refuse to do.

[Adex_Xeda]

Zaelath,

You're putting words in my mouth. I wish you wouldn't do that. I'm am definately NOT an isolationist, but that topic is tangential.


Buying a cell phone from an ally is fine.

Buying items necessary for national defence from overseas is short sighted.

There may come a time when you can't depend on oversea deliveries during a war.

[vn_Tanc]

I read an order for 70 million bullets has been placed with an Israeli company and another 70 million with a second company I forget where.

Apparently even including taking this step the US military is facing a shortfall of 300m bullets next year.

[Zaelath]

Zaelath,

You're putting words in my mouth. I wish you wouldn't do that. I'm am definately NOT an isolationist, but that topic is tangential.


Buying a cell phone from an ally is fine.

Buying items necessary for national defence from overseas is short sighted.

There may come a time when you can't depend on oversea deliveries during a war.

I was speaking to the general case, which is pretty clear from the plural I would have thought.. anyway.

I would have thought fighting too many wars at once that you didn't need to be involved in was the root cause of the immediate problem

I dare say if it goes on for any length of time you will find a way to build some factories/increase output.

It's kind of interesting that you don't see yourself as "at war" now.. says a lot really, and in a real war I think you'd find a lot of shit would close down and be replaced by munitions factories pretty quickly, run by women of course because you'll all be conscripted unless you're the rich oil brat that sent you there.

[Raistin]

Hey how about keeping jobs in the states. Im sure theres a company that would be more than happy to have a gov. contract for millions of dollars. But then again, Bush doesnt care since its not oil.

[Voronwë]

we are already paying private contracters hundreds if not thousands of times the salaries of our military personnel to do security details and other things that the army normally handles.

i think its pretty shameful that our government will pay private contractors hundreds of dollars a fucking day to work in Iraq, but has submitted the new budget with cuts to Veteran's Benefits programs.

i'm not so worried about bullets being made overseas, i'm sure if the circumstances dictated it, we could do all of our supply domestically. i do agree with Raistin that our government has no problem paying higher than 'market' rates to large corporate campaign contributors, so i hardly think paying factory workers here in the states more than those in the Phillipines is going to break the Pentagon budget.

if it is not in our interest to overpay for services when it comes to lower income people, why is it when it comes to upper income people? must be the fact that lower income people don't donate to political campaigns!!

[Winnow]

The most disgusting thing in politics are all the ties politicians have to businesses that provide military hardware. You can throw ties to oil companies in there as well.

We need a president that's 100 percent invested in a solar power or nuclear power company!