Senate grills Rumsfeld on manpower

[Star]

WASHINGTON, July 9 — “When do I get to go home?” Over and over again, that was the question that GIs asked senators who visited Iraq 10 days ago. So that’s the question the senators asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at an Armed Services Committee hearing Wednesday. Rumsfeld said the Pentagon was studying whether U.S. troop strength in Iraq should be increased. But for now, total U.S. manpower isn’t enough to promise service members in Iraq early and firm return dates.

snip

Nelson added, “if you can’t tell the deployed troops when their deployment is over, then it is going to affect recruiting and particularly retention.”

snip

Two hundred eleven Americans have been killed in Iraq since the war began in March, 143 by hostile fire.
Since President Bush declared on May 1 that major combat had ended, 73 American military personnel have killed, 29 by hostile action.


http://www.msnbc.com/news/936532.asp?vts=070920031525

[Nottingham]

1. My father told me that WWII Men were at war for 7 years

they signed up for the duration and went from the War in Europe to the War in the East till it was over

:bounce: when I think of what those men must have seen

[lfairban]

2. I think WWII lasted for only four years.

December 7, 1941 until the surrender of Japan, the fall I think of 1945. Seven years would have taken them into the Korean conflict.

[diamond14]

3. the draft is coming....shrub may be forced to start the draft even

before the elections...

it takes a while to get soldiers trained...

of course, as Vietnam wore on...the training times became less and less...seems like some were sent to be front line fodder just a few weeks after being drafted....

[indictrichardperle]

4. I've changed my mind on this

The CFR is goint to pull the rug out from under the cabal. The political heat building up is going to make a draft impossible. International troops are going to be put in Iraq, the neo-cons are going to have to turn over the Booty.

The only thing i see preventing this would be a neo-con provoked war on NK or Iran. Then you would have a draft, and the political heat would be silenced. Of course this is madness and chaos, but neo-cons are insane fascists.....and growing desperate.