Compared To Bush, Obama’s Defense Record Looks Real Good (From Forbes)

There’s a reason Mitt Romney didn’t mention America’s warfighters in his speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination, and it isn’t the economy. Eight years of errors by the Bush Administration squandered the Republican defense franchise. Bush’s security team repeatedly misjudged the threat environment, was ill-prepared to cope with dangers when they arose, advanced strategic concepts poorly suited to the nation’s needs, and mismanaged everything from weapons acquisition to military pay and benefits. As a result, America spent a decade fighting wars that could have been easily avoided. President Obama was elected in large part because of Bush’s failings as Commander in Chief, and since taking office has made steady progress in fixing the military problems his predecessor created. Reasonable people can disagree about whether the Republicans or the Democrats have the best prescription for speeding economic recovery, but when it comes to matters of war and peace, there isn’t much doubt which party has performed better in recent years. I have written a commentary for Forbes here.