« From the Pen of: Steve Benson | Main | Old Enough to Fall, Old Enough to Serve »
A Sad History of Republican Neglect
Originally published Dec 12, 2004
Long before Spc. Thomas Wilson, several voices in the press have tried to save the skins of our troops, only to be ignored by our "compassionate conservatives" in power and in public.
Some of those voices even came from the Scaife-funded mouthpieces. Apparently, they thought being pro-military was being pro-Bush. They thought wrong.
NewsMax, October 14, 2003:
U.S. Troops Short on New Body Armor
NewsMax.com WiresWASHINGTON -- Nearly one-quarter of the 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq still have not been issued a new type of ceramic body armor strong enough to stop bullets fired from assault rifles.
Delays in funding, production and shipping mean it will be December before all troops in Iraq will have the vests, which were introduced four years ago, military officials say.
Congress approved $310 million in April to buy 300,000 more of the bulletproof vests, with 30,000 destined to complete outfitting of the troops in Iraq. Of that money, however, only about $75 million has reached the Army office responsible for overseeing the vests' manufacture and distribution, said David Nelson, an official in that office.
Angry members of Congress have denounced the Pentagon. They say up to 44,000 troops lack the best vests because of the sluggish supply chain, significantly more than the Pentagon figure. Relatives of some soldiers have resorted to buying body armor in the United States and shipping it to their troops, congressional critics say.
"I got a letter from a young soldier in Baghdad saying that the men in his group were concerned that they had cheap armor that was incapable of stopping bullets. And they wondered why they could not have the best protection possible under the circumstances," said Rep. Ted Strickland, D-Ohio.
UPI, December 3, 2003:
Under fire, Guard troops lack body armor
By Mark Benjamin
Investigations Editor
Published 12/3/2003 2:39 PMWASHINGTON (UPI) -- Army Reserve and National Guard troops getting shot at in Iraq sometimes wait for new bulletproof body armor while active duty Army soldiers get it first, according to Reserve and Guard soldiers.
Waiting for Interceptor body armor adds to concern among Reserve and Guard troops that they are treated like second-class citizens, even when it comes to lifesaving equipment. They say the treatment is unfair because enemy bullets make no distinction between Reserve and active duty.
Boston Globe, March 8, 2004:
Iraq death spurs push for Humvee armor
In the days before his death, Private First Class John D. Hart called his father to tell him how unsafe he felt riding around Iraq in a Humvee that lacked bulletproof shielding or even metal doors.
It would be the last conversation Brian T. Hart would have with his 20-year-old son. On Oct. 18 near Kirkuk, Saddam Hussein loyalists ambushed his son's Army convoy, killing two. A hail of bullets felled the Bedford High School graduate while he fought from his Humvee.
"When he died, all his ammunition had been spent," the unit commander wrote in a letter to Hart's parents. "Your son gave everything he had for the safety of others. . . . As a commander, I struggle to find words that adequately capture the depth to which we honor Private First Class Hart."
For Brian Hart, a 44-year-old Bedford businessman, his only son's last words have come to haunt him, especially after learning that other families who lost loved ones in Humvee attacks had complained to the Pentagon about the lack of armor in vehicles.
In fact, an average sport utility vehicle found on US roads provides more protection than Hart's Humvee. "He would have been better off in a Toyota Highlander," the father said.
Military.com, April 27, 2004:
Lack Of Armor Claims Troops
United Press International
WASHINGTON - Twenty percent of the U.S. troops killed in Iraq might have lived had there been more armored, heavier vehicles available to them, Newsweek reports Monday.A top Army general is recommending the Army send more Stryker medium-weight fighting vehicles to Iraq, which are lighter than tanks but heavier than Humvees, according to the magazine.
CBS News, October 31, 2004:
GIs Lack Armor, Radios, Bullets
Two weeks ago, a group of Army reservists in Iraq refused a direct order to go on a dangerous operation to re-supply another unit with jet fuel.Without helicopter gunships to escort them over a treacherous stretch of highway, and lacking armored vehicles, soldiers from the 343rd Quartermaster Company called it a suicide mission.
The Army called it an isolated incident, a temporary breakdown in discipline, and an investigation is underway.
North County (San Diego) Times, November 9, 2004:
LINK - By May 2003, it was clear to U.S. commanders that Iraqi insurgents were killing and wounding too many American troops with roadside bombs. The commanders requested beefed-up armor in the form of retrofit kits and increased shipments of heavier Humvees and troop transport trucks. So the Pentagon sprang into action.
It wasn't until August and September 2003 that war planners began drafting solutions. October through December 2003 was spent testing steel plates against various explosives. By February, the Pentagon announced it had reached full production.
Meanwhile, Marine and Army mechanics were improvising, and dying, in Iraq.
As of Oct. 4, defense officials said just 72 percent of Humvees in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Horn of Africa were armored. Now their goal is for 100 percent protection by May 1.
We're just beginning to dig into this, but some deeply troubling information has emerged:
- Marines, who left for Iraq for the initial invasion with "100 percent armored" Humvees, shipped out with dangerously thin steel armor. Army units apparently were equipped with hardened steel that was twice the thickness of Marine armor. Performance problems with the thin armor are being kept secret.
- A congressional staffer found the steel mill that makes the armor plating was running at just 60 percent of capacity.
- Budget mandates from Congress may play a role: Base construction funds flow while war equipment accounts run dry.
The Freepers, in the depths of their infinite ignorance, called this coverage "a hatchet job." The administration has ignored all the signs since the war began to pacify that wingnut voter base. Because of their inaction, soldiers died.
What kind of conclusion are we supposed to come to?
Just one.
President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld - with the blessings of their most ardent followers, supporters and cheerleaders - have thrown our sons, our daughters, our brothers and sisters, and our mothers and fathers in uniform under the bus to play out their war on the cheap. Their total disregard for these trusting souls to attain a still unknown goal is now becoming crystal clear.
The Freepers, the Bush administration, the entire wingnut infrastructure did nothing - NOTHING - about this long-known problem except blame Democrats for being weak on the military. That notion has now been shattered, thanks to the voice of one soldier hitting Rumsfeld right between the eyes. It prompted everyone in the GOP and their talkradio blowholes to go into full-blown damage control mode.
Unfortunately for too many troops, the physical and psychological damage has already been done.
If the people who put them there are getting a nanosecond of sleep at night, they should burn in hell.
Posted at 01:03 AM | Permalink
Comments on "A Sad History of Republican Neglect"
Back to Hoffmania! Home
The comments to this entry are closed.
TrackBack
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/221169/1527873
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference A Sad History of Republican Neglect:
This was my take on the same info:
12/11/04
What is a pundit to do? Why attempt to write satire when an honest reporting of real events will do? Here submitted for your approval is a series of events in regards to armoring our soldiers in Iraq with minimal attempts at humor:
4/27/04 We really ought to get our guys some more armor...
http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,FL_armor_042704,00.html
4/30/04 It's your fault, you evil liberal weenie, you voted against giving our troops armor (never mind that the measure passed...)
http://www.factcheck.org/article177.html
10/16/04 You are killing us here, we have no armor! (Sort of adds a whole new and fuller meaning to the term “Reservist”… If I may resurrect another Vietnam era term that seems appropriate here, “Right On, Brothers!”)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/10/16/MNG0D9B5JS1.DTL
http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,SS_102104_Dangerous,00.html
12/06/04 Bad Soldiers! Bad, bad soldiers!
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/11C8841B-D37D-446A-AC88-83E0618C057D.htm
12/07/04 Hey guys! Check out my new Letterman’s Sweater! I sure am proud to be captain of the team… don’t you think I look like Ike?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6668530/
12/08/04 Rumsfeld is coming to Kuwait?! And he’s going to answer questions?! What, no questions from reporters, only soldiers?! Hey fellas, check out this new batch of “rhetorical armor piercing question” rounds…
http://apnews.excite.com/article/20041210/D86SR9UO0.html
12/09/04 “Help us win the test of wills… any questions? Yes, you in the back with the sniper rifle, SPC Wilson… I’m hit! Medic! Medic! Tell Dub that I’m sorry….”
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/12/08/rumsfeld.troops.ap/
12/09/04 "It's a matter of production and capability of doing it.”, Rummy. Sole Armorer of Humvees: ‘we offered, they weren’t interested.’
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/12/10/us_stance_on_armor_disputed/
12/10/04 “Bad Donnie! Bad, bad Donnie!”, Like-Ike.
http://www2.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-12/10/content_399091.htm
I’ll leave off of this with a quote from the last cited China Daily article, spoken in true “Rumsfeldese”:
Rumsfeld said on Thursday Wilson would be contacted.
"I don't know what the facts are but somebody's certainly going to sit down with him and find out what he knows that they may not know, and make sure he knows what they know that he may not know, and that's a good thing. I think it's a very constructive exchange"
My guess is SPC Wilson’s ‘contact’ will be suffused with a number of “Yew Maggits!” among other expletives as well as a little free “R&R” trip: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7447.htm
Take home messages here? I think Rumsfeld actually said it best, believe it or not. His answer to SPC Wilson included the response, “You can have all the armor in the world on a tank and it can (still) be blown up". I think this applies rhetorically to Fortress White House as well. Will Dub, Dickie, and Donnie take this to heart and learn from it? I think they’re doing a battle damage assessment as this is being written and figuring out how to “up armor” the White House, so… no, not really.
We can all take heart in the fact that when a single courageous reporter is presented with a target of opportunity and is able to adapt and improvise, there is no armor in the world that can protect this administration. They will always be susceptible to a well placed sniper’s bullet (I am speaking rhetorically here, and I must again state that I mean no harm, nor am I plotting any harm to Bush or his administration, other than that allowable by international law).
In my opinion, Rumsfeld, in his response to the 2300 GIs offered a brief glimpse into his soul. Wilson asked about the welfare of the common soldier, and was shown that he was nothing more than an “Army” that Rumsfeld ‘wished that he had’. If this is their true position, I would advise The Bush Administration be careful with these “Like Ike” visits and posturing lest they become reacquainted with another Vietnam War era term called “fragging” (See above disclaimer in parenthesis). I think they’ve just overdrawn on their Political Capitol Cards !
...So said The Dood on Dec 12, 2004 3:00:51 AM
Its a sorry state when a problem that has existed for nearly two years is still more or less kicked under the rug by the media and the man responsible for it is allowed to continue on his incompetent way. You see Bush and his private army when he goes anywhere and what it costs for his photo ops, how about cutting back on the photo ops and using that money for what our service people need. I'm more than sure people have seen enough of his sorry ass as it is. For men and women putting their all on the line for his corporate war he has shown very little respect to them or to what they are doing. For sure the majority of the repugnicans would not do it,their past records have proven that. Just think, we only have four more years to go. Then maybe Jebby Bush for another eight? Its really amazing what money can buy.
...So said ROBERT D. DAILY on Dec 12, 2004 5:22:57 AM
No money left after the Halliburton contracts maybe!I am rendered brain fogged after reading this. This administration is so damned disgraceful and incompetent. Maybe we need to change tactics. Get Oprah to have families of fallen soldiers on and talk about all this shit. My deceased husband, a VietNam vet used to sing; "Jingle bells, shotgun shells, VC in the grass. Take your Merry Christmas and cram it up your ass."
...So said Nancy Mixon on Dec 12, 2004 5:28:55 AM
maybe bush will sneak in to visit the troops for Christmas ,take his kids with him.bet their armored up.
...So said dave on Dec 12, 2004 6:02:32 AM
The Bush Administration is a growing cancer that is draining the life blood from this country.
...So said Ron Kacherian on Dec 12, 2004 7:14:48 AM
What are we going to do?
Seriously...what?
...So said Louise on Dec 12, 2004 9:36:53 AM
This is typical Repug hypocrisy. "Support the troops" is a better thing to preach than to practice, especially if you're BushCo.
...So said Pinkette on Dec 12, 2004 10:39:18 AM
Amazing how the Reublicans claim they care about our military men and women, yet side step the issue about protecting these brave young people who risk their lives for us.
When will the rank and file military realize that the Republicans only care about the industries who are in the "war" business, and not the man or woman in the trenches. Wake up people!
...So said Judy Walsh on Dec 12, 2004 5:49:24 PM
Amazing how the Reublicans claim they care about our military men and women, yet side step the issue about protecting these brave young people who risk their lives for us.
When will the rank and file military realize that the Republicans only care about the industries who are in the "war" business, and not the man or woman in the trenches. Wake up people!
...So said Judy Walsh on Dec 12, 2004 5:56:06 PM
In Viet Nam over twenty nine years ago they did not need to so
call Up Armor! There was no where to hide! They and we did have V-100 Armor cars and Armored M113 "Tracks" We never rode inside the "Tracks" be cause of Land Mines and and "Boobies"! There was always a a pile of sand bags some times four or five deep inside on the floor to protect us and layered on the top also! We also had gun shields on the " Sixties and Fifty". We use chain link fence hung on the side when moving and a few feet away when static for the night for a RPG shield! No trucks of any kind where armored! We have flack vest and groin protectors that let most things through! Steel brain buckets and Lots of bugs, bad water, and sure did not know who was the next Charlie or NVA!
Things do not change, they killed us then and they kill us now!
That is what happens when you have people more interested in their so called careers! Why are the Brits not losing as many troops?
Southern Iraq is where where the other Bush mess up too!
...So said deadendman1969 on Dec 12, 2004 9:35:07 PM
Like I always tell the fucking hypocrites, "Support Our Troops" is just a fucking campaign slogan for the coward who ran away on 9/11.
...So said merl on Dec 13, 2004 7:54:24 AM
12/14/04 I sat down and wrote this after I'd had a chance to digest everything. My sincere apologies to Ireland and everyone Irish, and anyone that thinks that they might be Irish for ruining their "National Anthem", "Oh Danny Boy". It's a beautiful song, and one of my all time favorites, but unfortunately it lent itself well as a send up for Donald Rumsfeld and the needless deaths of our soldiers. I started writing this as a parody, but as these things often do, it took on a life of its own. By the end it was not really funny, but I found myself very moved and saddened. I will give the majority of the credit for this to the beauty of the melody. Submitted for your approval...
Oh Rummy Boy (to the tune of "Oh Danny Boy")
by The Dood
Oh Rummy boy, the troops, the troops are fallin’
From IED’s they’ve got no place to hide
Their Hummer’s sawn, in half from all the straifin’
It’s you, it’s you must go or they will die
Don’t come ye back to this Iraqi sideshow
And brag the Army’s really good to go
For they’ll be there unarmored and in sorrow
Oh Rummy boy, oh Rummy boy, you’ve got to go
Uranium and all the Napalm’s flyin’
It’s you who’ve led, and spread this misery
You have declined to face and share the cryin’
You wheel and say " The War of Will’s not Free"
But they will bear aloft the dread so gloomy
And fight the grave with armor over seas
That we will send, and tell them that we love them
And you, you’ll keep in place your war done on the cheap
...So said The Dood on Dec 14, 2004 8:06:24 PM