Republican Leader Frist Says U.S. Forces Stretched Thin in Iraq

[quaoar]

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=a4pJKSZglPFw&refer=us

Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Senate Republican Leader Bill Frist said the U.S. military is struggling to keep up the fight against insurgents who want to disrupt the Jan. 30 elections in Iraq for a new national assembly.

Frist, appearing on NBC's ``Meet the Press,'' declined to say whether he would support extending the current 24-month tours of active duty for reservists and U.S. National Guard members. He said that might hurt recruitment.

``We are straining our Guard and reservist personnel,'' Frist, a Tennessee Republican, said of the part-time force that makes up 40 percent of the 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Republican Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire and Democratic Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware agreed.

[quinnox]

1. Time for a draft

That's the next step.

[darkism]

2. It sure is drafty in here lately...

[Clark2008]

10. Brrrrr....

This is why I always call him Bill :scared: Frist.

[daleo]

3. Frist will solve this with an army of cats.

He is reviewing his old research notes for ideas.

[aquart]

4. Send Jeb with Colin, will you, George?

Loyal soldier realizes it's every man for himself.

[rodeodance]

6. he just comes to this conclustion now!!--smart doc isn't he;-(

[leftchick]

5. of course the ONLY solution is a Draft!

Right repukes???

[xray s]

7. Can you imagine....

...what guys like Frist would be saying if a Democrat was in the White House screwing things up this badly?

[AlCzervik]

13. i know exactly what they'd say........

No war for(insert name here)!

[mike_c]

8. they're starting the draft spin machine....

In a month or two conservative columnists and op-ed writers will begin penning pro-draft articles. Then, when authorization gets to the floor of the senate (I presume it will), watch the patriotic dem leadership trip over themselves in their rush to "support the troops" by throwing plane loads of unwilling young people into the meat grinder.

[leesa]

12. Exactly. And by the time they get done with the spin cycle, St Dubya

will be the angel of mercy bringing the troops hope and salvation.

[RaleighNCDUer]

14. Agree, but think your timeline is off.

The draft suggestions are already started, in code, with little things like this. There will be hell to pay, come election day, and within days there will be calls for new troops. The president will reluctantly ok the draft before the end of February, and the troops will be on the ground in Iraq by June. Build up through summer, then as things cool down in the fall, the invasion of Syria (or Iran, take your pick).

Remember, he's got a mandate, and some political capital to spend.

[Bouncy Ball]

22. I agree with the scenario

but I think you've got things moving a bit too quickly.

[RaleighNCDUer]

25. On second thought, you're right.

After all, it took 6-8 weeks for a response to 9/11 which I think is pitiful.

Particularly if he knew it was coming in advance.

LIHOP

[buddysmellgood]

9. Gosh, hmmmm...boy, what to do? What to do?

Maybe if they ponder enough, the people will rise up and DEMAND A DRAFT! Enough already. We're tired of hearing how screwed up this is. We demand you send our children an neighbors into hell. And we mean yesterday!

[frylock]

11. wow. really? who could have foreseen this?

Surely not that hack, General Shinseki. This is just shocking news.

[Just Me]

15. These PRO-DEATH squads will advocate nuclear over conscription.

'Cause they damn well know this country will EAT them alive if they do a draft!!!

Believe me. They'll blow up the whole ME before they do a draft. AND THEN, when they have incited their world war,...THEN they will have created the perfect environment to spend American blood on behalf on their power-seeking, profiteering EVIL!!!

This evil lot can't handle LOSING by the rules. They WIN no matter what the cost, to themselves or their people or country or the world.

[rooboy]

17. The religious right can't wait for nukes to be used...

it's their version of God's wrath. There will be a world war for sure.

[RaleighNCDUer]

26. And this time we play the part of the Nazis. n/t

[Malva Zebrina]

16. Let me see if I get this

Our troops are "struggling" against an ad hoc army of resistance fighters armed with self immolating bombs, and 'RPG's. They have no great big tanks, or airplanes to drop huge bombs, and they have no state of the art weapons.

and we, the nation with big money, with the utmost in high tech equiptment,with the capacity to wipe out entire cities, such as Fallujah, with the billions of dollars to spend on winning, are "struggling"?

How can that be so?

We have lost this war. The continuation of this inhuman bombing, torture and killing of civilians , will amount to nothing.


We have lost this war, and we deserve to lose it. We attacked them and not the opposite,in spite of the billions of dollars we spend on trying to win it. Indeed, Bush thinks that an Iraqi "election" is proof that we have won. We suceeeded in bringing democracy to Iraq! He canot wait for that,and pushes for it constantly, because after that he can deny his involvment, wash his hands, and blame every tragedy that occurs on that soil,on the Iraqi people.

[stepnw1f]

18. Gee... I Wonder Why?

Iraq invasion... Bad idea.
But lying to the people about it's purpose, worse.

[LevelB]

19. Does Zell Miller know

that Frist says we are struggling? If a democrat had said this, Zell and the Republicans would put the whine machine into top gear because this kind of negativity does not support the troops.

B.

[ally_sc]

30. zell is a turncoat...and the repugs best weapon

against us..we must find a strong common ground and unite or zell will landblast us again with some crap like he did at the GOP convention.
yeah the draft at this ppoint seems inevitable...i have a niece that is seventeen i guess she will be going...

[bunny planet]

20. here we go, right on schedule..........can you feel a draft?

[MasonJar]

21. Oh, you mean that he finally noticed? How big of him!

[Dhalgren]

23. There will be a draft and the American public will accept it.

The only ones who will oppose it will be "fringe" unpatriotic, terra-ist supporter lefties. The Democratic "leadership" will fall all over themselves trying to out "Bush" the Republicans. Many more thousands of US soldiers will die and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians will die and maybe ten years from now, we'll declare victory and fly out of Baghdad with the very last drops of Iraqi oil burning in the choppers. The American people think that your children dying in a war is a good thing and they don't give a good goddamn how many or why Iraqis die...

[yorkiemommie1]

24. paving the way...

preparing the peeples for the 'voluntary mandatory extended visit to the MidEast'.

[teryang]

27. Didn't his family's medical corp defraud us of millions?

He qualifies as a management expert.

Gee, who got us into this situation, Senator?

[dbt]

28. DUH.

[llmart]

29. Well, no freakin' duh!

This asshole went to med school and he's just now admitting to this fact? Med school must be churning out some real bright cookies.

[symbolman]

31. How about a constitutional amendment

that drafts people who SUPPORT the war first - republicans, freepers, anyone who voted for Bush, his daughters, all Congress and Senator's sons and daughters, etc.

We certainly don't need a draft with all these Nascar driving, Coors Swilling war Lovers running around.

TIme to put your ASS where you MOUTH is you war loving assholes.

Or is that shit I see running down your legs?

I did MY TIME (Vietnamt Era) now it's THEIR turn.