Link for the Obama reply:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/-/email/Fight%20the%20Smears%20-%20Unfit%20for%20Publication.pdf Web page with link to pdf document and email to send friends:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/invite/corsi Obama's reply, "Unfit for Publication: An Investigative Report on the Lies in Jerome Corsi's `Obama Nation," states the following:
LIE [quoting Corsi's book]: "He has pledged to reduce the size of the military and stop spending money on expensive new military systems, so we can redirect the savings to social welfare spending." [p 257]
REALITY: OBAMA WOULD INCREASE THE SIZE OF THE MILITARY
McCain Advisor Kagan: "Actually, Obama Wants To Increase Defense Spending."
Robert Kagan has been advising John McCain's presidential campaign on an informal and unpaid basis. He wrote of Obama's foreign policy speech, Okay, you say, but at least Obama is proposing all this Peace Corps-like activity as a substitute for military power. Surely he intends to cut or at least cap a defense budget soaring over $500 billion a year. Surely he understands there is no military answer to terrorism. Actually, Obama wants to increase defense spending. He wants to add 65,000 troops to the Army and recruit 27,000 more Marines. Why? To fight terrorism. He wants the American military to `stay on the offense, from Djibouti to Kandahar,' and he believes that `the ability to put boots on the ground will be critical in eliminating the shadowy terrorist networks we now face.' He wants to ensure that we continue to have `the strongest, best-equipped military in the world.' Obama never once says that military force should be used only as a last resort. Rather, he insists that `no president should ever hesitate to use force -- unilaterally if necessary,' not only `to protect ourselves... when we are attacked,' but also to protect `our vital interests' when they are `imminently threatened.'" [Washington Post, 4/29/07]
Obama Said The "In The Immediate Future" The Defense Budget Would Need To Be "Somewhat Higher... Just To Restore Readiness And Replace Equipment."
"`Indeed,' [Obama] says, `given the depletion of our forces after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we will probably need a somewhat higher budget in the immediate future just to restore readiness and replace equipment.'" [AP, 10/12/06]
Obama Said That He Supported A Higher Defense Budget In The Future To "Restore Readiness And Replace Equipment."
Obama wrote, "For starters, our defense spending and the force structure of our military should reflect the new reality... Indeed, given the depletion of our forces after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we will probably need a somewhat higher budget in the immediate future just to restore readiness and replace equipment." [Audacity of Hope, pp 306-307]
Obama "Often Tells Democrats Things Many Don't Care To Hear" Including That Military Spending Would Not Be Immediately Cut In An Obama Administration.
Yepsen wrote in the Des Moines Register, "In appearances, he often tells Democrats things many don't care to hear. For example, at his rally in Cedar Rapids on Saturday, he was asked about cutting military spending in order to free up money for other priorities, something liberal Democrats have been after for decades. But Obama said `in terms of the overall military budget, I will tell you that we are going to have problems making immediate cuts, because one of the untold stories about this war is the way it has depleted our military. The fact of the matter is, we are going to need
31
more troops that we currently possess' because of the pressure Iraq has placed on the National Guard and reserves, he said. `We're going to have to build up the size of our active regular forces. We're going to have to replace the equipment that has been depleted...There's probably going to be a bump in initial military spending just to get back to where we were." [Des Moines Register, 2/12/07]