Bush And His Troop Support Bullshit

   As noted in my previous posting, Bush is flapping his face about the Iraq war funding hurting our troops and showing a lack of support for them and maybe having to deploy them longer because of the funding cuts. We all know that is bullshit!

"The president is vetoing the bill to provide money for soldiers -- readiness, health care, armaments, etc and a timeline to get out of Iraq."

     More on the cost of escalation and this isn't about just the price of this crappy war.

WASHINGTON - For just the second time since the war began, the Army is sending large units back to Iraq without giving them at least a year at home, defense officials said Monday. The move signaled how stretched the U.S. fighting force has become.

A combat brigade from New York and a Texas headquarters unit will return to Iraq this summer in order to maintain through August the military buildup President Bush announced earlier this year. Overall, the Pentagon announced, 7,000 troops will be going to Iraq in the coming months as part of the effort to keep 20 brigades in the country to help bolster the Baghdad security plan. A brigade is roughly 3,000 soldiers.

The Army will try not to shorten the troops' U.S. time, "but in this case we had to," said a senior Army official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. "Obviously right now the Army is stretched," the official said.

   In the mean time, Bush and his " yes sir " generals still can't plan the war. This is with four years of planning! How much practice do you need?

Defense officials and military leaders disagreed last week over how long it will take to determine if the latest buildup — which added five brigades to what had been a fairly consistent level of 15 brigades in Iraq — is working.

Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, the military's chief spokesman in Iraq, said commanders won't know until at least autumn when they can begin to bring troop levels back down. A day later Defense Secretary Robert Gates told a congressional committee that he was disturbed to hear that comment, and he said commanders should be able to make the evaluation by summer.

Bush is sending sick and injured troops back to Iraq, and now he's sending troops that haven't received requisite leave. This is no more supporting the troops than is vetoing the funding bill that Congress has presented him. The damage to the nation's armed forces and ultimately to national security, will likely be felt for decades to come. It's long past time for Congress to step in and end this debacle.    Daily Kos

 

Tags: Bush escalation troop support Congress Iraq