Randall Cunningham: “What is even worse is that where you have a force that is not trained properly, because it does not have the maintenance…”

“What is even worse is that where you have a force that is not trained properly, because it does not have the maintenance or the airplanes to fly, but when you have a foreign policy like Somalia that had 18 marines killed and 77 wounded, because they would not commit armor, where you have a policy where you want to commit the Marine Corps with sidearms only in Haiti, where you have a policy where you could get us into Bosnia, that will not do the United States any good, coupled with the depreciation of our Armed Forces, it is going to be terrible for us not only now but in the out-years as well. And communities are going to suffer as well, not just the national security. So it is not just the cuts in defense, but it is the foreign policy and the strength of those decision that are necessary. And yes, I include Lebanon under a republican President that to me was a tragedy that we put our Marines and let them get shelled and let them sit there without fully employing, and that was a disaster and a wrong decision as well. So I think it is not unique just to this administration. But we need a strong foreign policy that is going to protect our people. And we need the high-technology equipment, the manpower, and the training to go along with it. You fight like you train. Unless you have the machines to train, then you are not going to be able to do any good.”