PACE ADMITS MILITARY LACKS EQUIPMENT TO SUPPORT BUSH'S SURGE

[Dracos]

In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Peter Pace admitted that finding enough equipment to support President Bush's escalation plan to send an addition 21,500 combat troops to Iraq would be a "problem." He said further that the "41,000 armored vehicles in Iraq" would be "fewer than will be needed to cover all the the troops that are deploying." One senior Army official suggested to the Washington Post last week that five brigades of Humveess would have to "fall out of the sky" to meet the shortfalls. Last year, the chief of the Pentagon's National Guard Bureau expressed similar sentiments, telling Congress that "at least two-thirds of his units in the United States are not combat-ready." Such shortages are not new. Indeed, the Post reported last week that Guard units have "on average, 40 percent of their required equipment," and according to Army data, "the Guard as a whole is not expected to return to minimum equipment levels until 2013." Reports of cascading supply failures are not likely to end soon. Last week the Pentagon's Inspector General told Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) that two ongoing audits of the procurement of armored vehicles and body armor for American soldiers would be forthcoming in July and October 2007.

[elehhhhna]

1. K&R, please edit to add the link.

[Dracos]

3. E MAIL from Center for American Progress

[BuyingThyme]

2. Eschnipment.

[knight_of_the_star]

4. That's not good news

Sounds like more lambs to the slaughter if the surge goes ahead as planned.

[YDogg]

5. Hell, our helicopters are falling outta the air.

I'm not trying to be cute or disrespectful here ... I've wondered whether that is indicative of the shitty conditions and harsh environment, and poor options for maintenance.

[bdamomma]

9. total incompetence, and lack of maintenance, the helicopter

could have gone down due to mechanical failure, that was one of reasons I heard, could be very possible.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. We're sending our men and women in unprotected

and without vital supplies--again. But that richest 1% has got to have another tax cut, doncha know.

[nam78_two]

7. K&R.nt

[Az_lefty]

8. so the big plan is to throw a bunch of fresh meat into the grinder?

sounds like Nam all over again...stupid fucks didn't learn a damned thing.

[bdamomma]

10. all this death for *'s lies.