Forbes Begins Push For HASC Chair; (Be ready for Congress to call for attacking Iran in 2015 )

[Mass]

http://breakingdefense.com/2014/02/forbes-begins-push-for-hasc-chair-calls-for-new-leadership/

WASHINGTON: Rep. Randy Forbes will, for now, deny that he is positioning himself for the coming battle for chairman of the biggest committee in Congress, House Armed Services, fondly known as the HASC.

But Forbes, one of three committee members regularly mentioned as having a good shot at the job, is clearly beginning to position himself for the November or December meetings of the House leadership where the chairmanship will be decided. He may deny it, but it certainly looked like Forbes began his pitch Tuesday, calling for new congressional “leadership” on defense and national security issues.

Not a good move for peace. Randy Forbes is responsible for this gem, last year.
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/Dec/05/duncan-hunter-iran-nukes/

Rep. Duncan Hunter says the U.S. should consider using tactical nuclear weapons against Iran if a military conflict arises and warned that the Tehran regime cannot be trusted to honor any international agreement to keep it from developing nuclear weapons.

“I don’t think it’s inevitable but I think if you have to hit Iran, you don’t put boots on the ground,” Hunter, R-Alpine, said in a C-Span interview aired Wednesday. “You do it with tactical nuclear devices and you set them back a decade, or two, or three. I think that’s the way to do it with a massive aerial bombardment campaign.”

Also the guy who does not want the NRCC to give money to gay GOP candidates, not t hat it gives any indication on his defense ideas.


Apparently, there are other possibilities, and I am not familiar with them, but if Forbes wins, it will not be pretty.

I spoke Wednesday afternoon with a Republican well versed in the process of selecting a committee chairman about just what the House leadership looks for in a chairman and asked him to handicap the race. As do most observers, he bet on Rep. Mac Thornberry, saying the “race is his to lose.” But he made clear that Forbes and Rep. Mike Turner, chair of the HASC tactical air and land forces subcommittee, have reasonable chances.

I do not know who the next speaker will be (Boehner, Cantor, Hersaling, Labrador, ... the list is long of potential candidates), but hopefully, he can find somebody better than that.