“This is a cause of strategic peril for the United States. The next administration
is going to get a U.S. Army that’s broken if the Congress and the Administration
don’t get serious about this resource shortfall. … .. We’re going to have
to drawdown in Iraq. You can’t keep almost more than half of the active force
deployed in combat and sustain that over time.” – General Barry McCaffrey
(Ret.)
One of 8 recruits are criminals.
We’re losing our sargents at a “400% increase” over a few years ago
and short “thousands” of captains and majors short.
According to McCaffrey, the National Guard has about 40% of the required equipment
they need domestically.
But today the debate was about whether to fund the war without restrictions,
or to give Mr. Bush the $50 billion but have goals attached to getting out of
Iraq by December 2008. Democrats wanted the latter, so were putting up a House
bill that had already passed.
Then Mitch McConnell tried to ram a
$70 bllion legislation gift to his boss, which would have had no timetables,
no goals, no limits whatsoever.
If you haven’t heard it, I urge you to listen to my interview with Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, this week as he talked about the Strategic Drift in Iraq, including the displacement of Iraqis, and the consequences we’re facing because of it.
The American people of all political stripes want to redeploy safely from Iraq.
An unending war is not what anyone wants at this point, but that’s exactly what
Republicans served up. Democrats were not willing to cave.
However, since the Republicans only would sign on to a blank check for Bush,
ignoring what the majority of America has demanded, they were able to defeat
the Democrats’ funding measure that included goals and a timetable for withdrawal
from Iraq.
Aravosis
has more.
The question I have is something Sargent also brings up. A few days ago Democrats
hinted they were going to make a play to force Republicans to filibuster.
Why didn’t they? Because in the end we all know how this will get spun. Letting
the public see the lengths Republicans will go to in order to prop up Mr. Bush
instead of doing what’s needed for our troops and long-term national security
of the U.S. would have been worth it. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen.
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