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This is from the NY Times, meaning The Mudville Gazette makes no claim and takes no responsibility as to the truth (or lack thereof) herein.
WASHINGTON, June 8 — Senator Larry E. Craig of Idaho is blocking the promotions of more than 850 Air Force officers, including young pilots who fought in Iraq and the general nominated to bail out the scandal-plagued United States Air Force Academy, in a rare clash between the Pentagon and a senior Republican lawmaker.
Say what? Please read the whole article. But note that the significant portions of this story are well buried. Wouldn't expect a Times hack to know better.
Military officials say to give in to Mr. Craig now would only invite more holds from other senators.
"We obviously can't operate like that," another senior military official said. "Idaho is a great state, but we can't put more planes in there without taking them out of somewhere else."
Why after seven years Mr. Craig is exercising his Senate prerogative now to delay these promotions is a bit of a mystery. The planes have not been a pressing concern for most of his constituents.
"It's not something people here are tapping their fingers over, waiting for them to show up," said Lt. Col. Tim Marsano, spokesman for the Idaho National Guard.
Mr. Hart would say only that "Senator Craig's record of overwhelming support for the military speaks for itself" and blamed the Air Force leadership for disclosing his hold "as some sort of strategy to renege on promises made to Senator Craig."
Mr. Hart is full of it. Attacking the Air Force leadership for revealing his boss's underhanded lowlife actions? We just fought a war and this sh1ts@ck wants to hold up Air Force promotions over some aircraft his Guard people don't want? (Clue: Air Force Aircraft cost money to maintain and operate, and do not generate profit. Guard units belong to the individual states. This represents a cost to the people of Idaho, not a gain.)
A buildup of the guard forces could help shield Gowen Field from a new round of military base closings scheduled to be decided in 2005. Increasing the number of C-130's at the field could make it a less attractive installation to close, defense officials said. Gowen's C-130's returned in January from a tour in Oman, where they supported operations in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf.
Hmmmm... not sure the Feds can close up a Guard Base. Again, it's a state organization, not federal. So there's some possible bad reporting right off. And four aircraft make that big a difference? Only if their addition means the unit crosses some "magic number of aircraft to survive" threshold. Somebody may have fired from the hip here. More research needed!
Here's the deal: I am locked and loaded. Target acquired. But with regards to the potential for faulty intelligence I wait at least 24 hours for personal research and a sensible response from the subject. Then this GI opens fire right here in the Gazette. The clock is ticking.
This post has been updated. Please click here.
