Recently Retired Military Commanders Give Bleak Assessment of Situation in Iraq And Call For Immediate Infusion of 60,000 More Troops.
September 26, 2006
Washington, D.C.-Democratic Senators from the Armed Services Committee held a hearing yesterday with three high-level recently retired Military commanders, who indicated that there is a dire need to mobilize the whole country (America) for war and for sixty thousand more troops in Iraq. In addition they asserted that there is a need to change leadership from the top down at the Pentagon. There is a need for the White House to move from rhetoric to support and action that reflects the level of passion expressed in a rhetoric that so far has produced nothing. There is a need to win the war in Iraq and so far the leadership at the Pentagon and the White House has not demonstrated a willingness to give the military the troops or the material to ensure that such a victory will be possible. Not only are they unprepared to fight but they have not equipped the troops to win this confrontation.
These commanders not only said that every major military commander was with them but specifically instructed the Democrats on how to bring current commanders in and what actions were necessary to allow those commanders to speak openly and honestly about the failure at the top of the Bush administration. It was one of the most amazing hearings I have ever listened to on CSpan. They said that the military had basically lost faith in the Administraion and that the military was on the verge of revolt. It was as every Senator there said, from Clinton, to Rockefeller to Schumer and Dorkin, the most amazing testimony they had ever heard.
Each officer testified in turn to the dire condition of the military under Bush. But that was not all. They took issue with his lack of diplomacy even going so far as to quote that line from the Godfather: "Keep you best friend's close and your enemies closer," to show how uninformed Bush's policy of not talking to anyone whom he considers an enemy is. They asserted that we should have an ambassador in Syria, and bemoaned this lack. They said that if the Army returned to America today it would take at least $70B to bring the Military back to the condition it was at before Iraq. It is that broken and battered. It was a stark assessment of the Army, the War, and the President and Rumsfleld's leadership and lack of leadership. The officers said that without exception every major commander in today's military had lost faith in the current civilian leadership.
To say the testimony was damning in the extreme is an understatement.
September 26, 2006
Washington, D.C.-Democratic Senators from the Armed Services Committee held a hearing yesterday with three high-level recently retired Military commanders, who indicated that there is a dire need to mobilize the whole country (America) for war and for sixty thousand more troops in Iraq. In addition they asserted that there is a need to change leadership from the top down at the Pentagon. There is a need for the White House to move from rhetoric to support and action that reflects the level of passion expressed in a rhetoric that so far has produced nothing. There is a need to win the war in Iraq and so far the leadership at the Pentagon and the White House has not demonstrated a willingness to give the military the troops or the material to ensure that such a victory will be possible. Not only are they unprepared to fight but they have not equipped the troops to win this confrontation.
These commanders not only said that every major military commander was with them but specifically instructed the Democrats on how to bring current commanders in and what actions were necessary to allow those commanders to speak openly and honestly about the failure at the top of the Bush administration. It was one of the most amazing hearings I have ever listened to on CSpan. They said that the military had basically lost faith in the Administraion and that the military was on the verge of revolt. It was as every Senator there said, from Clinton, to Rockefeller to Schumer and Dorkin, the most amazing testimony they had ever heard.
Each officer testified in turn to the dire condition of the military under Bush. But that was not all. They took issue with his lack of diplomacy even going so far as to quote that line from the Godfather: "Keep you best friend's close and your enemies closer," to show how uninformed Bush's policy of not talking to anyone whom he considers an enemy is. They asserted that we should have an ambassador in Syria, and bemoaned this lack. They said that if the Army returned to America today it would take at least $70B to bring the Military back to the condition it was at before Iraq. It is that broken and battered. It was a stark assessment of the Army, the War, and the President and Rumsfleld's leadership and lack of leadership. The officers said that without exception every major commander in today's military had lost faith in the current civilian leadership.
To say the testimony was damning in the extreme is an understatement.
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