Air Force generals try to use counter-terrorism funds to build flying luxury hotels for top brass

Regular seating was deemed adequate for fighting men and most military officers, but a team of four top generals got personally involved in making minute design decisions on so called "luxury pods" -- private on-plane luxury accommodations with couches, beds, big screen entertainment centers and full length mirrors, presumably so that the generals could admire themselves as they fly far above the men and women dying on the ground -- luxury accommodations that drove the cost overruns so high that the Pentagon tried to use counter-terrorism funds to make up the 16 million-plus dollar shortfall.

The Washinton Post explains in part:

The Air Force's top leadership sought for three years to spend counterterrorism funds on "comfort capsules" to be installed on military planes that ferry senior officers and civilian leaders around the world, with at least four top generals involved in design details such as the color of the capsules' carpet and leather chairs, according to internal e-mails and budget documents.

Production of the first capsule -- consisting of two sealed rooms that can fit into the fuselage of a large military aircraft -- has already begun.

Air Force officials say the government needs the new capsules to ensure that leaders can talk, work and rest comfortably in the air. But the top brass's preoccupation with creating new luxury in wartime has alienated lower-ranking Air Force officers familiar with the effort, as well as congressional staff members and a nonprofit group that calls the program a waste of money.

Air Force documents spell out how each of the capsules is to be "aesthetically pleasing and furnished to reflect the rank of the senior leaders using the capsule," with beds, a couch, a table, a 37-inch flat-screen monitor with stereo speakers, and a full-length mirror.

Who's responsible and how is he being punished, reasonable minds may ask?

Air Force officials say the program dates from a 2006 decision by Air Force Gen. Duncan J. McNabb that existing seats on transport planes, including some that match those on commercial airliners, may be fine for airmen and troops but inadequate for the top brass. McNabb was then the Air Mobility commander; he is now the Air Force's vice chief of staff, and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates nominated him in June to become head of the military's Transportation Command.

Damn... that'll teach him.

McCain violates basic security precautions on Obama Iraq trip

The blogosphere is about to erupt with outrage over John McCain appearing to violate basic security precautions when he told a campaign fundraising luncheon that his opponent, Barack Obama, would probably be in Iraq this weekend with a small group of US senators.

Reuters explains:

The Obama campaign has tried to cloak the Illinois senator's trip in some measure of secrecy for security reasons. The White House, State Department and Pentagon do not announce senior officials' visits to Iraq in advance.

McCain may have really stepped into it this time.

He has centered his campaign around his purported expertise in national security matters -- but he continued to make a series of small and large blunders and factual errors when discussing Iraq and the middle east (including insisting on several occasions that Iran was working directly with their own sworn enemies, Al Qaeda -- who consider the Iranian Shi'ia to be "less than dogs" and worse than infidels -- because they are apostates in the eyes of the Sunni-dominated Wahabists in Al Qaeda).

Now, he will be seen as having either inadvertantly violated basic security -- in the benign view -- or, worse, will be seen as drawing a big target on Obama and the other senators.

More soon. No doubt.

If the election was held today... in Britain...

UK Poll shows British pick Obama over McCain five-to-one...

Britain's daily, The Guardian, has published polling showing our British cousins prefer Democrat Barak Obama by nearly five-to-one:

Barack Obama is overwhelmingly Britain's choice to be the next US president, five times more popular than his Republican rival, John McCain, a Guardian/ICM poll shows today. Carried out ahead of the Democratic candidate's visit to Britain next week, the poll reveals that 53% feel certain he would make the best president, with only 11% favouring McCain; 36% declined to express an opinion.

The Guardian breaks down the demographics -- to the extent that they do break down, support for Obama is broad -- thusly:

The survey, carried out late last week, found that Obama's support is strongest among male voters - 57% of whom want him to be president. There are small regional variations in support: 50% back him in the south-east, against 57% in the north of England. But overall enthusiasm for an Obama presidency is solid across people of all ages and backgrounds. Unlike the US, there is no evidence of young Britons being keener on Obama than older people.