LAT: Army's Top Officer Signals Unprecedented Pentagon Budget Revolt

[DeepModem Mom]

Army's Top Officer Signals Pentagon Budget Revolt
By Peter Spiegel, Times Staff Writer
September 24, 2006

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army's top officer withheld a required 2008 budget plan from Pentagon leaders last month after protesting to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld that the service could not maintain its current level of activity in Iraq plus its other global commitments without billions in additional funding.

The decision by Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the Army's chief of staff, is believed to be unprecedented and signals a widespread belief within the Army that in the absence of significant troop withdrawals from Iraq, funding assumptions must be completely reworked, current and former Pentagon officials said.

"This is unusual, but hell, we're in unusual times," said a senior Pentagon official involved in the budget discussions.

Schoomaker failed to submit the budget plan by an Aug. 15 deadline. The protest followed a series of cuts in the service's funding requests by both the White House and Congress over the last four months.

According to a senior Army official involved in budget talks, Schoomaker is now seeking $138.8 billion in 2008, or nearly $25 billion above budget limits originally set by Rumsfeld. The Army's budget this year is $98.2 billion, making Schoomaker's request a 41% increase over current levels....

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-military25sep25,0,5555967.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[CAG]

1. Remember, Rummy blamed vets taking VA care as a drain on the defense

budget a couple of years ago... maybe the chickenhawk will try that masterful propaganda again soon.

[Trajan]

2. This is extraordinary ....

It is well known that lower level careerists have no fondness for the civilian leadership in the Defense Department .... This just takes it to a whole new level ....

The Democratic Party is the ONLY party that ACTUALLY supports the troops .....

[Renew Deal]

8. Absolutely

For all the bullshit the right wing spews about supporting the troops, their actions don't match it. The best thing we can do is give the military what they need. They knew this war was bullshit. They knew that we didn't have enough troops. They knew there wasn't enough armor and body armor. And we all know the republicans won't give them the tools they need to fight this war.

[Straight Shooter]

3. "Unusual times." Is that a euphenism for endless war?

Unusual times. :eyes:

[ConcernedCanuk]

13. "Unusual times." = having a mass murderer as your Pretzeldent

.
.
.

Mind you

GeeDub is just the puppet of the PNACers

He really has no concept of what is going on in the world

But the Boy-King IS really enjoying this killing spree at the expense of the taxpayers,

and the USA's reputation.

Thank y'all very much

(sigh)

[young_at_heart]

4. Key word----"unprecedented"

Remember General Eric Shinsecki's dismissal by Rumsfeld....of course the General was correct, but he didn't have the power.

[Old and In the Way]

5. All of that corrupt cronyism is expensive. You can't privatize the

US military and not expect to see your costs balloon. Hard to believe you can finance a war in the $450BB/year Denfense budget.

[Renew Deal]

6. Give the army what it needs.

This is exactly why Rumsfeld needs to be replaced. he keeps screwing with the Army. They say more troops, he says less. They say more money, he says less. They're supposed to fight this filthy war. Give them what they need.

[JoFerret]

17. They wouldn't need so much

with good Pentagon leadership and sane government. (Am not for pouring money to the military. that is different from paying and supplying and supporting troops well. Especially with good missions and sane leadership.)
No more wars.

[rodeodance]

7. come on Rummy--give him the $--and suport the troops.

[Kagemusha]

9. This method of funding enables Hasert's current mischief:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2528638

[FredStembottom]

10. There's a lot I don't know about D.C. and the pentagon

But I can't remember reading anything like this before!
Seems unprecedented - and more so in light of other subterranean revolts that we are hearing about (like the CIA: no to torture flap earlier):wow:

[gkhouston]

16. I've never heard of anything like this before.

My impression was that there is a core of people within the DoD who actually do care about the country and the people serving it and not so much about politics. They try to ride out the changing tides of different administrations. And then there are the political appointees, who come and go with each administration. Some of them have enough sense to utilize the "lifers" around them and serve the country while they're serving their own personal interests. It would appear that * didn't choose very many folks of that ilk and we're now reaping the price of his poor judgement in that area as in so many others.

[LynnTheDem]

11. series of cuts in the service's funding requests by both the White House

series of cuts in the service's funding requests...

There the republicans go again, "supporting the troops"!

[w4rma]

12. Fire the expensive mercenaries/"military contractors" who get paid obscene

amounts compared to official armed forces.

[fasttense]

14. Well it is about time.

Too bad he didn't act this way when they attacked Iraq without enough soldiers.

[sabra]

15. kick

:kick:

[tabasco]

18. This is the guy that Rummy pulled out of retirement to be an ass-kisser.

Schoomaker must have no choice. Other generals must be forcing Schoomaker to do this because Schoomaker himself is a paid-for yes-man. That's why Rummy hand-selected him. Amazing development. I knew there was a LOT of opposition to the corporate cabal in the Army, but I thought Schoomaker would cover for the criminal regime. Apparently BushCo is trying to fuck the Army even harder than Schoomaker can deal with.