Kerry Criticizes Bush for Failing to Protect Troops in Iraq

[UpInArms]

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/business/national/8208115.htm

Mar. 17--CHARLESTON, W.Va. - John F. Kerry sought yesterday to define himself as a committed veteran as he charged that President Bush rushed into Iraq a year ago without making sure US forces had enough body armor and other protection from insurgent attacks.

Flanked by his Vietnam boat crew and appearing before dozens of veterans wearing caps designating their American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, the senator also accused the president of "trying to blame everybody, except his own administration," for problems the United States faces at home and abroad.

In addition, he rebutted a new Bush ad criticizing him for voting last fall against $87 billion in additional funding for US troops in Iraq -- a supplemental appropriation that included money for body armor -- by saying he would have supported it if it had been financed by repealing a portion of the tax cuts implemented during the Bush administration. Kerry made that proposal in an amendment he cosponsored; the Senate rejected the amendment before approving the $87 billion.

...more...

[molly]

1. We have just begun to fight!

:kick: Kick ass Kerry!

[underpants]

2. Why didn't they have body armor to start with?

That's what he should say about those ads.

[mr_hat]

3. Or training, even better. My state's NG is nearly 80% deployed >

and its combat-readiness requirement is only 25%.

That's a lot of folks being sent into harm's way with only half a clue...

[erpowers]

4. The Really Bad Thing...

is that even the humvees that the troops ride in are not safe. According to a news story on the Houston affilicate of CBS, the humvees used in Iraq may be less safe than the cars used by American citizens. These humvees, even though they are in a war zone, do no protect the soldiers from bullets in that they are not armored. If someone shoots at the vehicles the bullets go straight through the glass and body of the humvee. Even though there are some aromored humvees there are not enough. All soldiers will not be provided with aromored humvees until 2005. In order to protect themselves now soldiers have used steel plates and whatever they can get there hands on. According to the story at least one or two soldiers from Houston have died because they did not have armored humvees.

[underpants]

7. ABC: Kansas reservists armor Humvees themselves (from donations)

http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/US/soldiers_armor_040217.html

Rather than training, what many soldiers really want is armor to protect their vehicles from the bombs they can't see. When reservists in the Army Reserves' 428th Transportation Company showed up at Fort Riley, Kan., to prepare for deployment, they were warned by their buddies already in Iraq that without armor on the vehicles, they'd be in danger.

Maj. Keith Porter said he took the warnings seriously. "They suggested it would be a good idea to add steel plating as additional protection," he said.
The Army, though, had none to give them. While production of armor has been stepped up, supply is far short of the need. So Porter and his soldiers started looking for ways to armor their vehicles themselves.

Local citizens, hearing of their plight, donated money, and a local steel company offered to turn 12,000 pounds of raw steel into armor custom-fit to their trucks — free of charge.

The 428th has since learned that other Army units also are creating homemade armor. Army officials caution that some of it may not meet military standards, but so far they have not prohibited its use.

[Bridget Burke]

9. I saw the segment on Channel 11 (CBS in Houston)

The "unarmored" Humvees aren't just lacking heavy-duty armor--they actually have canvas walls! They're less safe than the ones pseudo-machos drive around Houston.

Apparently the government was just planning to use them for transporting soldiers. They didn't believe anybody would actually be shooting at them.

How many have died or been horribly wounded just because of government cheapness?

Kerry needs to give them hell over this.

[truthspeaker]

5. response to the attack on the $87 billion vote

Since the appropriation passed anyway, how come the troops still don't have body armor? Where did that $87 billion go?

[chelaque liberal]

6. Was it supposed to be 87B in body armor?

What percent of the 87B was for body armor? The latest attack ad would only be true if that was the only thing it was for.

Wasn't more than 1M used against the peaceful and democratic protest against FTAA in Miami?

[UpInArms]

8. $8.5 million went to stop the FTAA protestors in Miami eom

[lanlady]

10. the best way to tackle Iraq as an issue, IMHO

is to do as Kerry just did--focus on the disastrous post-war planning (or rather, lack thereof) and total lack of accountability for the adminstration's catastrophic mistakes and miscalculations.

[0007]

11. I think so!

[DeepModem Mom]

12. Must make an issue of sending our troops to Iraq unprotected...

and unsupplied with needed equipment -- the entire country should be outraged at this --