Pentagon Dismisses Reports of 34 Warships for Obama Trip Security

Drudge….increasing the stupid since 98.

Unbelievable how fast unsubstantiated hate spreads – as if this is some frivolous wasteful junket.
HELLO? During the first 5 months of 2010, American exporters grew their sales to India by 23.4% to $7.5 BILLION dollars. Good news and strengthening ties and trade between the world’s 2 largest democracies is even better.
Exports are an important part of our ECONOMIC RECOVERY.
Asia is a growing consumer economy that can contribute to more JOBS here at home: aircraft, jewelry, chemicals, telecommunications equipment, steel and petroleum, + industrial hardware all MADE IN THE USA.

Gibbs is always a hoot; his handling of facts when speaking with the press has earned him the title of “Baghdad Bob” as a result of his, uh, creativity.
When all is said and done, we will probably find out that the trip cost only 198 million dollars per day, and Gibbs will tell us with a straight face that he didn’t lie.

No other nation has anything like our Aegis or Burke ships.”
This was badly phrased.
Should have read no other nation has anything like our Burke ships with Aegis (aegis is a combo radar and weapons control system)

“Why would the Indian press release false information?”
You would have to ask them.
“Did they cite sources?”
Nope.
But that does not stop the right wing media from running with it the story.
Why is the right wing so pathologically dishonest?

“You’re ridiculous, Ryan C. The fact is, you’re taking the word of”
No, I am using logic that says 34 ships is 2 to 3 times the size of a carrier strike group and as pointed out would amount to 10% of our Navy.
But if the word of someone is important to you look at the article you are commenting on:
“Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell did not shy away from dismissing reports that appeared in Indian media outlets, such as the Press Trust of India and the television network NDTV. The Press Trust of India is that country’s largest news agency.
Morrell told reporters he was making an exception to the practice of not discussing Presidential security details to shoot down the reports.
“I will take the liberty this time of dismissing as absolutely absurd this notion that somehow we were deploying 10 percent of the Navy — some 34 ships and an aircraft carrier — in support of the president’s trip to Asia,” said Morrell at today’s Pentagon briefing. “That’s just comical. Nothing close to that is being done.”
Need word from someone on your team perhaps?
FoxNews”In a statement also disregarding the PTI projections, Gordon Johndroe, former deputy White House spokesperson under President George W. Bush said, “I am positive there will not be ’34 warships’ involved in this trip.”
You’re a perfect illustration of the right wing’s pathological dishonesty.
You insist something must be true because it works with the right wing narrative on Obama.

Posted by: Ed Watts | Nov 4, 2010 6:20:57 PM posted: “we will probably find out that the trip cost only 198 million dollars per day.”
OK Ed. Let’s go with your fantasy football projection and say that this trip does cost $198 million per day. Ding-dong Michele Bachmann fantasizes it is $200 million per day, so better yet, let’s say $200 million.
The President is visiting 4 major trade partners: India, South Korea, Indonesia and Japan. This trip is designed to help increase US exports with each of these nations – for example, during the first 5 months of 2010, American exporters grew their sales to India by 23.4% to $7.5 BILLION dollars.
We want them to buy more from our country, not other countries, right?
So in your view, would it be worth spending millions on this trip to influence $BILLIONs of new US exports? (You may recall we are still in a Recession, and strengthening export relationships can also build long term JOBS here at home.)

Pretty much everything that comes out of Mr. Obama has some lies tied to it. For example, he said several months, ago that he rather be a good one-term President, than a bad two-termer, because he will fight for what he believes in. But it looks like he got scared and not carried through with his conviction after last night loss.

MayBee | Nov 4, 2010 7:17:34 PM posted “Has the groundwork been done? Is it at a Presidential involvement stage? Is it important now?”
According to Bloomberg Businessweek, the answer is YES.
South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and U.S Trade Representative Ron Kirk met last week in the U.S.
President Lee Myung-bak announced confidence on Wednesday that South Korea and the U.S. can finalize a long-stalled free trade deal.
And, in a telephone conversation this week Lee and Obama agreed to make efforts to finalize the deal.
The White House also said that if Seoul and Washington “can reach a satisfactory agreement on the key issues for American workers, we will have a deal.”
Conservatives may HATE this kind of spending on a trip to Asia, but Obama is pointing our economy in the right direction. To pull out of this nasty Recession, we need to change from a nation of debt-ridden consumers to a nation of producers again.

The White House also said that if Seoul and Washington “can reach a satisfactory agreement on the key issues for American workers, we will have a deal.”
Conservatives may HATE this kind of spending on a trip to Asia,
=========
The Free Trade agreement was signed in 2007. Congress (which has been Democratically controlled since then) will not ratify it.
Hopefully, Obama has been doing the groundwork at home, too. But perhaps he waited until he thought Congress would have more Republicans who would vote for it before he decided to readdress this issue with the Koreans.
I don’t hate the spending if the trip is worth it, but I think we all have the right to know how much it is costing us.

I support full disclosure but for security reasons I think its wiser to tell us after the fact. I vote for full disclosure after he is back home safe and sound.
========
I don’t believe cost gives away any security secrets.
But ok, how about after every Presidential trip we get an accounting of how much it cost the US taxpayer.

“No other nation has anything like our Aegis or Burke ships.”
All of the Arleigh Burke class DDG’s are Aegis ships. The phrase “or Burke” is superfluous.

You know when the GOP-Tea Party right wing media starts propogating this type of false information they are just making the GOP-Tea Pary and their type of “news” look silly, petty and insignificant. Keep up this type of nonsense and you will become your own worst enemy with these types of bizarre statements.
This is a trip to try and open that market so that our American businesses can get their goods into a market that has millions of consumers. The President will get the same type of security he and every other President receives whenever they travel abroad.

This is a trip to try and open that market so that our American businesses can get their goods into a market that has millions of consumers.
Posted by: I’ve had it |
This is also a trip to the outsourcing capital of the world. Maybe they will have a clever Earn American Buy American campaign.

I’m no insisting the report isn’t true. I’m just not assuming this administration is telling us the truth. Remember when we were supposed to be skeptical of whatever the White House said. Why, heck, that was only a few years ago. Now that Mr. Hope-n-change is in office, we’re supposed to believe everything they say. And you accuse ME of believing things just because they fit a narrative?
Keep swallowing the Obama administration’s bs hook, line and sinker. Keep believing that they really do want don’t-ask-don’t-tell. Keep believing that they’ll close Guantanamo. Keep believing that they’ll be open and transparent. Keep believing everything they say, despite all visible proof to the contrary. Keep being the sheep you are.

I don’t believe cost gives away any security secrets.
Posted by: MayBee | Nov 4, 2010 8:37:34 PM
Then I don’t think you pay much attention to right wing guerilla tactics. Just as now, they would keep lying till an itemized list was on the table. Its what Republicans do, and, imho, on security they need to be cut off, with details disclosed following the trip. However, even then, the security measures would still not be itemized for obvious reasons. Just a lump sum would have to be made available and a general explanation as to what security was covering.
It’s peculiar what Republicans do and do not see the need for disclosure and transparency on. I see double standards and blatant hypocrisy.

Knock, knock:
Yet it’s perfectly fine for the administration to insinuate that the Chamber of Commerce was using foreign money for campaign purposes without any evidence to the contrary.
The White House started this game of unfounded allegations, and now they don’t like it when people do it to them. Boo frickin’ hoo.

This is a trip to try and open that market so that our American businesses can get their goods into a market that has millions of consumers.
Posted by: I’ve had it |
If Barry is soooo pro-business and interested in opening up markets, why haven’t he and his Democratic accomplices on Capitol Hill passed the free trade agreements negotiated with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama? It would be a lot cheaper…and could have been done last year.
No, this is an opportunity for Barry to stoke his massive ego (by going somewhere where he is more popular than back home) and to deflect attention to the drubbing the Democrats took on 11/2.
“What’s different this time around is ‘you got me’” is what King Barry told skittish moderate Congressional Democrats earlier this year. The One (Termer) was right…and many Republicans rode the Obama Agenda to victory.

This trip was set up a long time ago by Hillary Clinton. They’re also holding a military yard sale – all the ASATS you can get for $1.00. India’s not all that happy that Obama has promised Pakistan a half a trillion for their weapons as well, next year. India and Pakistan do not play well. I wouldn’t sweat it – Bernake just printed another $600 million yesterday – that ought to cover the hotel rooms.

And FWIW, Geoff Morrell was a former ABC reporter, was heavily involved in the Clinton campaign as well as being a reporter for WBBM in Chicago. So this time he made an “exception” to comment on National Security. How nice.

Posted by: wheresmymoney | Nov 4, 2010 10:30:00 PM posted: “So telephone calls have really sealed the deal, and the trip is for pomp?”
Have you ever “sold” anything? Or even closed a Million dollar deal? Or how about closed the prospect of BILLIONS in potential exports?
If not, then it’s armchair quarterbacking by the clueless.

Yeah how did we get fooled? I mean Obama has been so good with a buck after all. After blowing through 3 trillion in 2 years, billion does seem like chump change after all. Roll the presses DUH WON and print mo money.

I’m just floored at how many of you are so desperately entrenched in right wing ideology. What a brilliant scheme to trick this many people into infusing a political ideology so deeply into their very identity that they keep a vice grip hold on everything from lies to innuendo just to protect it. As though their very lives depend on it. What gives? So far gone, these people would rather die than question what is clearly exterior programming determining their opinions. It’s utterly sickening. And that fact that it’s America only makes me sicker.