Bush Hears About Strain on Troops (from the five sided Puzzle Palace)

[unhappycamper]

Bush Hears About Strain on Troops
ROBERT BURNS | August 31, 2007 08:02 PM EST


WASHINGTON — At a key juncture in the Iraq war, the military chiefs conveyed to President Bush on Friday their concern about a growing strain on troops and their families from long and repeated combat tours.

Bush met privately at the Pentagon with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Defense Secretary Robert Gates in preparation for decisions about how long to sustain the U.S. troop buildup in Iraq, whether to change course this fall and how to save the health of a heavily stressed Army and Marine Corps.

Indications are that Bush intends to stick with his current approach, at least into 2008, despite persistent pressure from the Democrat-led Congress _ including some prominent Republicans _ to find a new course.

Still to be heard is the long-awaited assessment of Gen. David Petraeus, Bush's choice to execute the new strategy he announced in January to improve security in Baghdad.

~snip~

There are no signs that the Pentagon's top generals and admirals are pushing for an early end to the war, but they are concerned not only about strains on troops but also about the possibility that the heavy focus on counterinsurgency warfare in Iraq leaves the military ill-prepared in the event of a crisis elsewhere.

Without revealing specifics of the Joint Chiefs' remarks, Bush said afterward that they discussed preserving the military's war-fighting capability for the long term and "monitoring the health of our all-volunteer force" _ the latter an allusion to fears among some that war strains could break the military.


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[pinto]

1. And the same, convoluted line from the prez again:

"The stakes in Iraq are too high and the consequences too grave for our security here at home to allow politics to harm the mission of our men and women in uniform," the president said in the statement. "It is my hope that we can put partisanship and politics behind us and commit to a common vision that will provide our troops what they need to succeed and secure our vital national interests in Iraq and around the world."

Geez.

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. Notice how he IS the one who always brings up "partisanship and politics" when

he isn't getting his way or, wants what he wants, regardless of the reality.

[The Count]

2. "Does nothing" - missing from the headline

[JohnnyLib2]

3. Has the entire group been replaced yet?

Or will their reputations be destroyed individually first?

Keep us posted.

[spanone]

4. and he doesn't give a shit.