Remarks by Cheney on the 50th Anniversary of DARPA

[Solly Mack]

Remarks by Vice President Cheney on the 50th Anniversary of DARPA

"THE VICE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Thank you very much. And I want to extend a special welcome to those of you who've come from out of town to help us mark the 50th anniversary of DARPA.

I'm genuinely pleased to be here. And let me thank especially my friend and colleague Gordon England for the introduction, and Dr. Tether for the invitation to join all of you tonight. I'm in good company this evening -- with Secretary Don Winter, representatives of the military and industry, and alumni of DARPA. Some of you I've known going back to the time I was Secretary of Defense -- the good old days, when I had real power in this town. (Laughter.)


I'm proud to say that DARPA has had many friends in our administration, from the President and myself to Gordon England and two fine leaders of the Pentagon in Don Rumsfeld and Bob Gates.


When the Gulf War was over with I picked up the telephone and I called former President Ronald Reagan and thanked him for the absolutely essential defense buildup of the 1980s. And I remember feeling tremendous gratitude to former Secretaries of Defense, Democrat and Republican alike, who made sure we had the force we needed in that conflict -- public servants like Frank Carlucci,
Cap Weinberger, Harold Brown, and Jim Schlesinger. And Don Rumsfeld, too, of course, because he had been President Ford's Defense Secretary in the mid-70s. As I've reminded Don, this makes him the only man to serve as Secretary of Defense in two different centuries. (Laughter and applause.)"






In case anyone wants it. I know some DUers keep up with DARPA.

[Shipwack]

1. "Thanked him for the ... defense buildup of the 1980s."

:puke:

I don't know about the other services, but the so-called "defense build-up" absolutely screwed over the Navy.

Ships were planned for but never completed (because they were not needed and too expensive), but the Navy had already started recruiting and training thousands of new sailors to man them. When the ships went "away", we were left with a glut of people, and had to start involuntary separations. Plus, it made advancing in rank difficult for many rates, since there were more people competing for a few slots.

[Solly Mack]

2. they do have a gift for ignoring how their policies and practices impact people