“United States Navy” on The Daily Caller

The United States Navy is drastically shrinking due to the serious cuts the Obama administration is making to the shipbuilding budget.  As set forth in the Navy’s Quadrennial Defense Review, the service requires a minimum of 313 ships to accomplish its many missions.  Today, however, the Navy is operating just 286 warships.  Given President Obama’s plans to further cut the defense budget, the number of ships in the Navy is certain to continue to decline below even the current number with very negative consequences for the United States; one area that is significantly impacted is America’s amphibious assault capacity. (more)

In the fight over defense spending, the first round has been fought between Congress and the Pentagon. Congress won by a knockout. (more)

China’s on-again-off-again approach to U.S-China military interaction and Beijing’s refusal to allow Secretary of Defense Robert Gates to visit China during his recent Asian trip reveals a dysfunctional military relationship that’s the result of much more than Beijing’s displeasure over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. It reflects fundamentally different national strategic objectives and the changing locus of leverage that result from China’s growing power and influence relative to the U.S. (more)

American naval supremacy has ensured our nation’s strength both militarily and economically for the past century, but a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report on the Obama administration’s budget proposal suggests that could be coming to an end. (more)

Call it the Big Apple or the city that never sleeps. This Memorial Day weekend, New York City proved that it is a proud patriotic city. The city welcomed thousands of sailors, marines and Coast Guardsmen docked at Pier 88 along the Hudson River for Fleet Week, an annual tradition since 1984. (more)

In a previous post, in recognition of National Military Month, it was discussed how our military had improved as first defenders of America’s freedoms. This post focuses on how the military, while assuring our national security, has also in unheralded fashion improved civilian society, enhancing daily lives of people and their surroundings, in health and conservation, both here and around the world. (more)

In November 2007, Gillian Gibbons, a British schoolteacher in Sudan found herself behind bars in a Sudanese prison sentenced to 15 days after being found guilty under Section 125 of the Sudanese Criminal Act, for “insulting religion, inciting hatred and showing contempt for religious beliefs”. She had committed the crime of allowing one of her pupils to name a teddy bear Mohammed after the first name of one of the popular students in class. Little did she know that she also committed the criminal offense of maligning the Prophet Mohammed. She was spared 40 lashes because she apologized to the shar’iah court and after intervention by British leaders was given a presidential pardon by Omar Bashir after seven days in prison. (more)

Things are happening in Europe, and those things will not help our sick economy. Government bonds of Greece were downgraded to junk status and interest spiked at 23 percent. That is the interest on a loan a Greek with excellent credit would pay. If he could get a loan. (more)

Despite the diplomatically cordial meeting between the US and Chinese leaders and China’s likely decision to modify its currency, political pressure in Congress, and other quarters, for a more aggressive China policy is mounting. Beyond currency manipulation, various other issues continue to generate fierce debate on the increasingly complex and troubled U.S.-China relationship. (more)

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U.S. Navy ships have had two clashes with pirates in less than 24 hours. (more)

If the king of Saudi Arabia were to be invited to the White House, President Obama would make the usual deep bow, have a long conversation with lots of photo ops, and then give the king a grand halal dinner. But it was not a Muslim king who was the honored guest last week. It was the Jewish Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, here to provide the president with another opportunity to embarrass himself and the United States. (more)

NEWPORT, R.I. (AP) — Hundreds of prime acres are up for grabs in this waterfront city and its neighboring towns, valuable commodity on an island known for prized beaches, lavish homes and natural beauty. (more)

CAIRO—The U.S. Navy is warning of possible al-Qaida attacks against ships off the coast of Yemen, where an offshoot of the terrorist network has established a significant base of operations over the past year. (more)

Everyone has suddenly noticed an elephant in the room: Play the War Card! So right after Daniel Pipes’ column in National Review Online last week, “How to Save the Obama Presidency: Bomb Iran,” pundits from Arnaud de Borchgrave, to Pat Buchanan, to Sarah Palin rushed to approve or disapprove of the idea. They all bring their agendas to the debate, but they all agree a U.S. attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities would significantly raise Obama’s disastrous approval poll ratings. Like politics, all warfare is domestic. (more)

“On November 5, 2009, the United States Army was viciously attacked from within by an ideologue bent on pursuing an agenda of Islamist extremism. This ideologue fell under the separatist influence of political Islam while serving as an officer. It is incumbent upon our force to begin to understand this theo-political ideology that threatens our soldiers internally and externally.” (more)

As 2009 drew to a close, a senior Chinese naval officer raised the idea that the People’s Republic of China (PRC) might be interested in establishing a permanent base in the Gulf of Aden area in support of anti-piracy missions. Admiral Yin Zhuo, a senior researcher at the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Equipment Research Center, suggested that such a base would facilitate a sustained Chinese presence in the region as part of ongoing anti-piracy efforts. (more)