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Skelton doesn’t want Gitmo detainees at Ft. Leavenworth

August 12, 2009 By

West-Central Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton has written Defense Secretary Robert Gates, arguing that Ft. Leavenworth is not an appropriate location for terrorist suspects now imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee , wrote Secretary Gates, laying out his case against re-locating Gitmo detainees at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas . Skelton’s main argument is that Ft. Leavenworth doesn’t just house the US Disciplinary Barracks, but the Army’s Command and General Staff College as well, which attracts foreign students from throughout the world.

Skelton worries that Muslim countries would quit sending students to the college, if the United States detains terrorist suspects at Ft. Leavenworth.

"Ft. Leavenworth does a superb job and like all of our war colleges they have foreign students and I want the cultural exchange to continue as it does now," Skelton said in an interview with the Missourinet.

In the letter to Gates, Skelton wrote, "I agree with the President that the detention facility in Guantanamo, in the minds of many around the world, have tarnished the otherwise sterling reputation of our Armed Forces and our country. Guantanamo has also become a recruiting tool for those who would seek to harm us."

Skelton then outlined two objections, the first focusing on the war college at Ft. Leavenworth. The second centered on a more legal issue.

"In addition, as you may be aware the United States Code precludes the proximate detention of American and foreign individuals," Skelton wrote in the letter. "Although relevant case law interpreting the U.S. Code does not prohibit certain co-location under particular circumstances, plans to transfer Guantanamo detainees to Fort Leavenworth would require additional expenses for military construction and enhanced security so as not to run afoul of the law. I urge you to look carefully at those costs and security requirements in making your recommendations to the President."

Ft. Leavenworth is located in Kansas, just across the state line, north of Kansas City. Skelton insists that location has nothing to do with his objections.

"If the Command and General Staff College were somewhere else, I would say the same thing," Skelton replied. "But the fact that it’s in my backyard, of course, does bring it closer to home."

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

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Skelton calls move in Iraq "a turning point"

June 30, 2009 By

A top Missouri Congressman calls it "a turning point"; the US military movement out of the cities of Iraq, handing their security over to the Iraqi military.

West-Central Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, says the action to leave the cities to the Iraqi defense will allow the US to focus even more attention on Afghanistan.

"That was our primary effort and we, sadly, neglected it over a period of time," Skelton tells the Missourinet, "but in truth and fact, they’re the ones who attacked us back on 9-11. Do you remember?"

The Iraqi government celebrated the withdrawal by declaring Tuesday a national holiday. The celebration was marred by violence. Late in the day, a car bomb exploded in an outdoor market in Kirkuk, killing at least 24. Four American soldiers were killed in combat Monday in Baghdad.

The United States and Iraq had reached an agreement at the beginning of the year that American troops would withdraw from the major cities by the end of June. American troops now are only to respond in the cities if the Iraqi military requests their presence. The next milestone for Iraq will be the parliamentary elections in January.

American troops remain in rural Iraq. Their numbers total 120,000. Trainers and advisers also remain to help the Iraqi military battle insurgents.

Skelton says the US violated a major tenet of war going into Iraq: never take on more enemies than you can afford.

"We had Afghanistan, which was a major one. Remember that’s the genesis of the attacks on Americans. That’s what we should have done is concentrate on that," Skelton says. "But we spread our forces and found ourselves in two places and found it very, very difficult to do both."

Skelton says the move out of the cities will ease the strain on the American military even as it focuses the country’s attention on terrorist hold-outs in Afghanistan.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

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Conway says overall health of Marines is good

June 17, 2009 By

West-Central Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has complained about the strain two wars have placed on America’s military. The Missourinet had a chance to ask the top Marine about Skelton’s concern during the Current Strategy Forum sponsored by the Naval War College  in Newport, Rhode Island.

General James T. Conway , Commandant of the Marine Corps, has a Missouri connection. The native of Walnut Ridge, Arkansas is a graduate of Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau. Conway says he understands the Congressman’s concerns. He says the Corps uses about a dozen measurements to gauge the overall health of its force.

"And, frankly, we’re pretty pleased with what we see right now with that resiliency," Conway tells the Missourinet’s Brent Martin attending the CSF, "based on the fact we’ve been at war arguably for seven or eight years."

The measurements include such things as desertion and unauthorized absences, domestic abuse of different kinds, and drunken driving among others. Two measurements concern Conway. Both the number of suicides and divorces are on the rise among Marines, especially upon return from deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan.

"And so we’re concerned about the trajectory on a couple of those trends," Conway says. "But, other than those, they are as good now or better than they were in 2001 before this all started. So, we’re definitely concerned about it and we are monitoring it to see if there is action that should be taken."

Conway says Marine Corps policy has helped. A Marine is deployed for only seven months at a time, rather than the 12 or more months an Army soldier can be deployed. Also, Marines serve a three or four year tour of duty before being assigned away from the battlefield, sometimes for as long as a full school year so Marines can have long stretches of time with their family.

Credit also goes to the public, according to Conway, who says Marines no longer remark that while the Marines are at war, Americans are at the mall. Conway says Marines have noticed strong support of their mission among the public, something that contributes to the overall mental health of the Corps. He adds that Congress has shown its support through increased pay and benefits.

Congress has authorized a Marine Corps totaling 202,000 troops. Conway says that is adequate to handle its assignments in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as others around the world. Currently 25,000 Marines are deployed in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The overall health of the Marines was a topic Conway addressed when he spoke to the Current Strategy Forum. Conway, who toured Iraq about a month ago, also told attendees that the Marines’ time in Iraq is coming to a close. Conway predicted the Marines would leave Iraq in the spring of Fiscal Year 2010.

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)
Download/listen Brent Martin interviews Marine Commandant James Conway (5 min MP3)
Download/listen Marine Corps Commandant James Conway addresses CSF (45 min. MP3)

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Skelton says president must submit plan for Gitmo

May 25, 2009 By

President Obama insists that the maximum-security prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba be closed, but Missouri’s top military expert in the US House says the president hasn’t made his case yet.

Congress has already rejected the Obama Administration’s request for $80 million to close Gitmo. In response, Obama made a speech declaring Gitmo a hindrance, not a help, to preventing terrorist attacks.

West-Central Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton , chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has listened.

"Obviously the president wants to close that facility, but the money has not been coming from Congress thus far," Skelton says. "The president hasn’t come forward with a plan as to what to do or where to place these people."

The president has promised to work with Congress to develop "an appropriate legal regime" for those too dangerous to be released. Obama has yet to unveil a plan for what to do with the dangerous detainees at Gitmo, where they might go.

Skelton isn’t worried about them coming to Missouri. He says there are no federal facilities in the state that could handle the Gitmo inmates.

Skelton says the administration must first propose a plan that can be debated in Congress. Debate must precede any allocation of funds.

What might Skelton want to see in such a plan?

"That’s up to them. We’ll see." Skelton responds. "We’re going to have to make sure that the American people are safe"

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

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Skelton applauds crackdown on contract overruns

May 22, 2009 By

West-Central Missouri Congressman Ike Skelton says President Obama has signed into law a bill that should significantly crack down on wasteful defense contract spending.

The president has signed the weapons acquisition overhaul bill, one of those very rare pieces of legislation to pass both chambers of Congress unanimously. During the signing ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Obama said the bill will check huge cost overruns on defense contracts and increase competition. Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, joined the president during the signing ceremony.

One government study indicated that cost overruns on 95 defense programs totaled roughly $295 billion.

"That’s a lot of money and a lot of weapons systems," Skelton told the Missourinet, "This hopefully will put that behind us."

The bill creates a new director of independent cost assessment to watch over defense contracts. The position would be appointed by the president, subject to confirmation by the Senate.

"The process of acquiring has been antiquated and people just haven’t been working together; stove piping, the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing," Skelton said. " There was no one, no discipline, to keep the contractors on time and on budget."

Download/listen Brent Martin interviews Congressman Skelton (3 min MP3)

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