Army Warns Rumsfeld It's Billions Short

[ProSense]

From the Los Angeles Times

Army Warns Rumsfeld It's Billions Short

An extraordinary action by the chief of staff sends a message: The Pentagon must increase the budget or reduce commitments in Iraq and elsewhere.

By Peter Spiegel
Times Staff Writer
Published September 25, 2006


WASHINGTON — The 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, say current and former Pentagon officials.

Snip...

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, 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.

"It's incredibly huge," said the Army official, who, like others, spoke on condition of anonymity when commenting on internal deliberations. "These are just incredible numbers."

Most funding for the fighting in Iraq has come from annual emergency spending bills, with the regular defense budget going to normal personnel, procurement and operational expenses, such as salaries and new weapons systems.

more...

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/la-na-military25sep25,1,7815229.story?coll=chi-news-hed

From July:

Losing an Army
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1709936&mesg_id=1709936

[AzDar]

1. Golly, maybe this Iraq thing isn't such a good idea, after all...

:sarcasm: :sarcasm: :sarcasm:

[valerief]

4. I'm sure it was good for those who got the treasury loot. n/t

[leftofthedial]

2. maybe Halliburton or Exxon-Mobil could give them a loan

or any of a couple of dozen of king george's "base" could kick back a percentage of their tax breaks . . .

[Imagevision]

9. No prob, Bush can simply borrow it from China...

[BOSSHOG]

3. As cheney explained it

deficits don't matter, reagan proved it. So the Army should just write a check. Hell that would be another justification for a tax cut to the halliburton's of the world.

[valerief]

5. Why write a check? If deficits don't matter, neither should one's credit.

It's all a happy game. La la la la la. Let's go scamper in our special gazillionaire hideaway.

[KansDem]

6. Time to get out the ol' plastic...

"Will that be credit or debit, Mr. President?"

[Imagevision]

7. Heck of a job Rummy - We get it, you'll fight the war on the cheap...

no probs??????

[babylonsister]

8. Maybe he should go check out Custer-Battles' pockets. nt

[ProSense]

10. Retired US generals demand Rumsfeld resign

Retired US generals demand Rumsfeld resign

1 hour, 13 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - Two retired army generals and a retired Marine colonel demanded Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld resign, accusing him of incompetence, arrogance and determination to wage war in Iraq on the cheap.

Speaking separately, Rumsfeld insisted he had no plans to quit.

"I'm not," Rumsfeld replied tersely when asked by a journalist if he was considering resigning.

Critics of the Pentagon chief have called for Rumsfeld's resignation over his management of the US military operation in Iraq, which has cost the lives of more than 2,600 US soldiers.

more...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060925/pl_afp/usiraqrumsfeld_060925212416