The Energizer Bunny has nothing on this guy!
You have to give Representative Murtha credit. He just refuses to give up on a plan that has no backing.
"Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified on Tuesday to the Senate Appropriations Committee that my plan to restore military readiness in order to meet current and future threats and to require the Pentagon to uphold its own guidelines, standards and policies would somehow be damaging on the battlefield.
I would think that General Pace would know better than me, better than Representative Murtha what would and would not be damaging to the military.
"Gen. Pace himself recently issued a report to Congress that said because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a significant risk that our military wouldn't be able to quickly and fully respond to another crisis. Two weeks ago, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff, said the president's surge in combat troops in Iraq will further erode the Army's ability to respond to other incidents around the world."
That is probably true, Congressman, however where ARE the incidents happening right now in the world. Are they happening in Kosovo? In South Africa? In Australia? Or are they happening in Afghanistan and Iraq?
"Gen. Pace also indicated that if he were forced to adhere to established Defense Department readiness standards, one-third of units currently programmed for Iraq could not be deployed. This statement is alarming. Is Gen. Pace saying that he is willing to accept that in the near future one-third of the total military force in Iraq will not be fully manned, fully trained or fully equipped?
Gen. Pace is trying to shift the blame, when in fact it is this administration's polices that are hurting our military."
Excuse me Congressman, but we ARE at war. At least we were the last time I looked. The Logical Husband was in the military and when he was in, he never got "off time". He was always on duty. It comes with being in the military...something the Congressman appears to have forgotten.
"Let's revisit history. On Nov. 17, 2005, I said that the failed war policies of this administration were destroying the future of our military. I said that our military is stretched thin, that the war in Iraq is resulting in significant shortfalls at our bases in the United States and that we must rebuild our Army. I knew then that the war policies of this administration were unsustainable and that our military preparedness and strategic reserve would suffer.
After visiting Iraq in 2003, I was the one who found severe shortages in body armor and shortages in armor and spare parts for our military vehicles. I worked with my colleagues to fix these problems. Since the start of this war, Congress has provided an additional $145 billion for essential war fighting and life sustaining items which the president did not ask for but which were needed. Congress also provided funding for 30,000 extra troops as a "temporary increase in end strength" because our military asked for it."
Timeline issues aside, let's just cut to the chase. What does the man that is the commander in Iraq want? What do the experts want? They want more troops in the field! Even Senator Joe Liebermann wants more troops in Iraq! However, that will now sway the intrepid Representative. He wants to withdraw the troops and that is that.
The people of America are indeed uneasy about this war, but they are not willing to withdraw in defeat. If nothing else, we learned the lessons of VietNam - something that apparently the Democrats in Congress have not.
"Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified on Tuesday to the Senate Appropriations Committee that my plan to restore military readiness in order to meet current and future threats and to require the Pentagon to uphold its own guidelines, standards and policies would somehow be damaging on the battlefield.
I would think that General Pace would know better than me, better than Representative Murtha what would and would not be damaging to the military.
"Gen. Pace himself recently issued a report to Congress that said because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is a significant risk that our military wouldn't be able to quickly and fully respond to another crisis. Two weeks ago, Gen. Peter Schoomaker, the Army chief of staff, said the president's surge in combat troops in Iraq will further erode the Army's ability to respond to other incidents around the world."
That is probably true, Congressman, however where ARE the incidents happening right now in the world. Are they happening in Kosovo? In South Africa? In Australia? Or are they happening in Afghanistan and Iraq?
"Gen. Pace also indicated that if he were forced to adhere to established Defense Department readiness standards, one-third of units currently programmed for Iraq could not be deployed. This statement is alarming. Is Gen. Pace saying that he is willing to accept that in the near future one-third of the total military force in Iraq will not be fully manned, fully trained or fully equipped?
Gen. Pace is trying to shift the blame, when in fact it is this administration's polices that are hurting our military."
Excuse me Congressman, but we ARE at war. At least we were the last time I looked. The Logical Husband was in the military and when he was in, he never got "off time". He was always on duty. It comes with being in the military...something the Congressman appears to have forgotten.
"Let's revisit history. On Nov. 17, 2005, I said that the failed war policies of this administration were destroying the future of our military. I said that our military is stretched thin, that the war in Iraq is resulting in significant shortfalls at our bases in the United States and that we must rebuild our Army. I knew then that the war policies of this administration were unsustainable and that our military preparedness and strategic reserve would suffer.
After visiting Iraq in 2003, I was the one who found severe shortages in body armor and shortages in armor and spare parts for our military vehicles. I worked with my colleagues to fix these problems. Since the start of this war, Congress has provided an additional $145 billion for essential war fighting and life sustaining items which the president did not ask for but which were needed. Congress also provided funding for 30,000 extra troops as a "temporary increase in end strength" because our military asked for it."
Timeline issues aside, let's just cut to the chase. What does the man that is the commander in Iraq want? What do the experts want? They want more troops in the field! Even Senator Joe Liebermann wants more troops in Iraq! However, that will now sway the intrepid Representative. He wants to withdraw the troops and that is that.
The people of America are indeed uneasy about this war, but they are not willing to withdraw in defeat. If nothing else, we learned the lessons of VietNam - something that apparently the Democrats in Congress have not.
Labels: Democrats, Undermining the War
posted by The Lady Logician at
5:46 PM
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