Murtha: Despite Another $67 Billion, Our Army is Broke and Badly Depleted

[kpete]

Despite Another $67 Billion, Our Army is Broke and Badly Depleted (75 comments )

This morning I spoke at a gathering of the National Newspaper Association regarding my strategy to redeploy our troops from Iraq on a scheduled timetable as soon as practicable. Iraq continues to be mischaracterized by the President as the center for the Global War on Terrorism. It is estimated that there are less than 1,000 Al Qaeda in Iraq. What is happening in Iraq is a civil war. It is Iraqis killing Iraqis and our troops are also targets.

We are depleting our resources in Iraq. Last night the House Appropriations Committee passed the President's supplemental request, providing an additional $67 billion for the continued military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. With this supplemental, Congress will have appropriated nearly $450 billion for the war, running our federal deficit higher and higher while this country had a surplus when President George W. Bush took office.

The latest reports show that the war in Iraq has badly depleted essential equipment. I am particularly concerned about the National Guard, who have only a third of the equipment they need to respond to a catastrophic event in our own homeland, and much of that equipment is antiquated and worn out. If something were to happen domestically in the near future -- and it's not an "if", it's a "when" -- the Guard will be severely hampered. I have said before that our army is broke, hollow, and stretched thin. I am not talking about the soldiers; they are well trained and have accomplished their mission. I say this in regards to the equipment and my particular concern regarding the National Guard.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-john-murtha/despite-another-67-billi_b_17036.html

[TayTay]

1. Murtha: A Profile in Courage

U.S. Representative John Murtha and Former Navy General Counsel Alberto Mora Named 2006 JFK Profile in Courage Award Recipients
http://www.jfklibrary.org/pr_pica_2006_recipients_announcement.html

Ceremony to Mark 50th Anniversary of Publication of Profiles in Courage

For Immediate Release: March 9, 2006
Press Contact: Brent Carney [phone]; [e-mail]

Boston MA – In the year marking the 50th anniversary of the publication of Profiles in Courage, the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation today announced that U.S. Representative John P. Murtha (D-PA), and former U.S. Navy General Counsel Alberto Mora have been selected as the recipients of the 2006 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award. Murtha and Mora will be presented the prestigious award for political courage by Caroline Kennedy and Senator Edward M. Kennedy at a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on Monday, May 22.

Past recipients of the award include President Gerald Ford, Ukraine President Viktor Yushchenko, U.S. Senators John McCain and Russell Feingold, Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, and former governors Roy Barnes (GA) and David Beasley (SC).

Congressman Murtha, a ranking member and former chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, a Vietnam combat veteran and a retired Marine Corps colonel with 37 years of service, was recognized for the difficult and courageous decision of conscience he made in November, 2005, when he reversed his support for the Iraq war and called for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the conflict. Murtha’s distinguished service in the Marines and the Marine Corps Reserves, and his expertise on defense policy issues, had long made him an eminent voice on matters of military engagement. His unexpected call for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq generated protracted and substantive national debate on the progress, policies and objectives of the U.S. presence in Iraq. But his dissent also made him the target of withering political attacks and resulted in efforts by political opponents to discredit his Vietnam War decorations.

[Greeby]

2. .....

:patriot:

[warrens]

3. That's OK

Just issue another stoploss order, give them a handful of ammo, and point em toward Tehran. What the hell, the Repukes own congress, so if they all get killed, they'll just draft our kids.

[gratuitous]

4. What the administration is thinking by threatening Iran, I don't know

Surely it's a secret kept only from large segments of the American public that our military is indeed badly depleted by the ongoing Iraq quagmire. Iran has to know that the corrupt Bush administration's threats against it are just so much hot air.

The Bush Doctrine of pre-emptive invasion sure didn't last too long, did it?