The Flathead Beacon, which is quickly becoming the place on-line to read real news, has some interesting answers from Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama about Montana issues.

I enjoyed reading the answers from Obama and Clinton concerning Malmstrom AFB:

Q: Malmstrom Air Force Base, in Great Falls, is one of three bases in the West that maintains Minuteman III Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. What role do you think these bases should play in a post-Cold War world, and should funding and staffing at such bases be scaled back? And if not to bases like these, what are some other areas of military spending where you think cutbacks could be made?

Obama: I think that us maintaining our nuclear deterrence is obviously critical to our national security. I have said that we should carefully examine how that nuclear deterrence functions in a post-Cold War world. If we make a determination that we do not need as many warheads as we currently possess in order to maintain that deterrent, that’s something that obviously should go into our budgeting process because we’ve got all these needs for our care of veterans. I think that we need more ground troops than we currently have to avoid two or three or four rotations in some of the conflicts that we’ve been fighting.

But what I’ve said is that I want to do a thorough audit of Pentagon spending to make sure that it’s responding to 21st century needs and not 20th century needs. There are specific programs that are out there that I think are worth examining. Some of the weapons systems that have been issued would be nice to have, but may not be our top priority. I don’t foresee a significant reduction in defense spending any time soon but I think that we have to make sure that the money we are spending, we are using wisely.

Clinton: Well, I think we first and foremost have to keep our country safe. That means we have to analyze all of our defense spending in light of that over-arching goal. Malmstrom has been called the “tip of the spear” of our national security and I tend to agree with that. I agree with the position that Senators Baucus and Tester have taken to try to prevent decommissioning those missiles, not only because I think it’s critical to our security, but also to the economy of Great Falls and Cascade County.

The important thing is to make sure that our bases are used to the fullest potential. And Malmstrom is a first-rate facility, which deserves to be evaluated and used effectively to enhance our country’s security. Having said that, we’re going to have to take a hard look at defense spending and make sure what we’re spending is in line with what our threats are. And I intend to conduct such an in depth analysis when I’m president.

As you can clearly see from these answers, Clinton understands Malmstrom AFB better than Obama. But for her information, the 50 missiles are already being taken from Malmstrom.

Sadly Max Baucus (for 30 years) and Jon Tester (recently) have been paying lip service selling themselves as supporters of the base and military.

While telling folks how important Malmstrom AFB is to Great Falls and for national security, they have been recipients of campaign donations from a group called, “Council for a Livable World” (CLW). CLW’s goal is to do away with all nuclear weapons.

It appears since the removal of the 50 missiles from Malmstrom AFB, CLW’s donations to Baucus and Tester are starting to pay off. One can only imagine what will happen to Malmstrom if we have President Obama or President Clinton helping Baucus, Tester, and CLW in 2009.