|
|
December 13, 2004
Eighteen months after President Bush announced the end of major combat operations in Iraq, American troops continue to suffer from serious flaws in the Bush administration’s post-war planning. Sen. Chuck Hagel offered blistering criticism of Defense Secretary Rumsfled yesterday, saying that he’s done “irresponsible” things, including going into Iraq without sufficient troops. “He's dismissed his general officers. He's dismissed all outside influence. He's dismissed outside counsel and advice. And he's dismissed a lot of inside counsel and advice from men and women who have been in military uniforms for 25 and 30 years." As a result, our troops must pay the price.
- National Guard and reserve forces lack adequate training and equipment to do heavy fighting. The administration has sent Guard and reserve troops into battle without proper training and equipment. A new report by USA Today shows: “In a reversal of trends from past wars, part-time soldiers in the Army National Guard are about one-third more likely to be killed in Iraq than full-time active-duty soldiers serving there.” The statistics bear this out: the active army has seen one death for every 402 soldiers deployed. The Army Guard, however, sees “one fatality for every 264 soldiers who have served, or about a 35 percent higher death rate.”
- The administration failed to provide troops with adequate protection. Anticipating an easy fight, the administration failed to gather the necessary armor and equipment to fight a protracted insurgency. For example, the Pentagon said it would need 235 armored Humvees in Iraq. But in reality, it needs 8,105, or thirty-five times as many as they predicted before the war, according to Time magazine.
- The administration cares little about the circumstances of our troops on the ground. As Defense Secretary Rumsfeld told soldiers last week, the Bush administration’s message to the troops: “Suck it up.” The troops are taking it upon themselves to push back. In October, members of the 343rd Quartermaster Company were “disciplined and demoted” for refusing to carry out a highly risky mission with their inadequately protected vehicles. The unit which eventually did carry out the mission was, in fact, hit. One soldier in the unit that carried out the mission, Sgt. Scott Montgomery, was wounded by shrapnel in the attack. “Had we not had armor on our vehicle,” he said, “my entire crew would have been killed.”
Daily Talking Points is a product of the American Progress Action Fund. |
Daily Talking Points is a product of the American Progress Action Fund. |
