Two stories I thought might be worth juxtaposing if only to help us all see more clearly as November approaches.
First up, Obama to cut combat pay:
Service members now will receive imminent danger pay only for days they actually spend in hazardous areas, Pentagon officials said here today.
The change, which took effect yesterday, was included in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law Dec. 31.
“Members will see the prorated amount in their Feb. 15 pay records,” Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby said.
The act called for DOD to pay service members imminent danger pay only for the time they spend in areas that qualify for the pay. In the past, service members received $225 per month if they spent any time that month in an area where the pay was authorized. “This is a more targeted way of handling that pay,” Kirby said.
Next up, Obama to send nearly a billion dollars to ‘Arab Spring’ Islamic radicals:
President Barack Obama proposed a $770 million aid package Monday for Arab countries undergoing democratic revolutions.
If approved, the “Middle East and North Africa Incentive Fund” will “incentivize long-term economic, political and trade reforms — key pillars of stability — by supporting governments that demonstrate a commitment to undergo meaningful change and empower their people.”
The money is listed in the Fiscal Year 2013 budget (which starts this October) for the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, which is responsible for economic development and humanitarian assistance.
The aid package would be on top of the $1.3 billion in annual military funding that the U.S. already sends Egypt, which remained unchanged in the budget proposal.
Cut combat pay. Increase funding to radicals in the Middle East.
Hope and change anyone?
