Obama Takes Aim at Defense Industry, Pork-Loving Politicians

Elements of the U.S. defense industry have yet to join the rest of the country in the post-Cold-War reality, according to President Obama, who also gave legislators who capitalize on the defense budget for self-serving reasons a verbal spanking as he addressed an audience of veterans in Phoenix on Monday.  —KA

AP via Google News:

He accused members of Congress of using the Pentagon budget to protect jobs back home, including on wasteful projects he said were diverting money needed for U.S. military forces battling everything from nuclear weapons to “18th century style piracy and 21st century cyber threats.”

Obama thanked America’s veterans and praised U.S. fighting forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. But he also spoke harshly of a “defense establishment (that) has yet to fully adapt to the post-Cold War world.”

His speech, in the convention center in downtown Phoenix, was respectfully received by the veterans, who frequently interrupted him with polite applause.

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AP / Alex Brandon

President Barack Obama pauses with Glen Gardner, commander in chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, after speaking at the VFW National Convention in Phoenix.