Leaving the Troops Hanging
This is how our US Congress supports the troops:
Lengthy delays in finalizing supplemental war funding could force Army leaders to extend some soldiers’ tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Thursday.
Army officials are planning cutbacks in home-station training, cuts in repair of predeployment training equipment and delays in upgrades to barracks and family facilities at stations worldwide if the president’s $94 billion supplemental request isn’t approved by Congress by April 15, Gates said at a media roundtable.
If the funding impasse stretches past May 15, he said officials will consider even more severe measures: canceling orders on all repair parts for equipment not related to war, reducing repair work at all Army depots and sharply cutting predeployment training of some brigade combat teams.
“This in turn will cause units in theater to have their tours extended, because other units are not ready to take their place,†he said.
So basically soldiers are going to be stuck on deployments longer while stateside military units cannot conduct normal operations because our US Congress is engaging in “political theatre“. The bill that include a provision to redeploy all the soldiers in Iraq by next year, passed the US House of Representatives today and will be moving to the Senate next. So just how did this bill pass the US House of Representatives? By filling it with pet project pork for the Congressmen that didn’t want to support it initially. Read the whole thing, but here is a sampling of where the priorities of the US Congress lie:
OK, that makes the VA total $1.38 billion — and the Dems have included $1.48 BILLION just for livestock farmers. More money for cows & horses than Veterans??? Yeah… you have not only shown us your priorities, you have shown us your stripes.
My personal favorite is the $74 million to ensure the proper storage of peanuts while only $35 million is dedicated to medical and prosthetic research. It is good to know that the US Congress values peanuts more than our returning wounded combat veterans.
So after all this time the bill finally passes the House and now heads to the Senate where it is not a sure thing it will even pass there. So who knows how long they will be debating it there and trying to add more pork to it as bribes to Senators to vote for it. Even if this thing passes the Senate President Bush has already said he would veto it, which would mean the Democrats have no chance of getting enough votes to override a veto and they know it. That is why this is considered “political theatre”. The Democrats are trying to appease their anti-war base by showing how they are trying to end the war, but the Democrats know full well this bill won’t pass. Once it fails in the Senate or gets vetoed then a bill without the redeployment by 2008 clause will eventually get passed, however don’t expect any of the pork to be removed because peanuts and livestock are more important than veterans. While this whole “political theatre” continues to play out, our troops are being left out to dry.
Remember this the next time you hear these people say they support the troops and not the war.
I don't see you griping about the $10 billion annual subsidy that GWB and Republicans pushed through the senate for Exxon and other oil companies to explore for more oilover the last 6 years. This congress stopped it. Also, the republicans have refused to fully fund VA hospitals in every single year that they had the majority. The Dems are pushing for more VA funding than any previous year. But, when you are blinded by shear hatred of liberals, I guess you wouldn't know these things.
The Democrats are the ones in charge of the Congress. You can't blame this one on the Republicans. The Democrats have been able to blame Republicans for so long for everything like what you are attempting to do now, but the truth is our soldiers are not receiving the funding and equipment they need because of a Democratic controlled Congress.
The Republicans never delayed funding to the military simply for political theatre. This bill isn't going to pass and everyone knows it. While it is going through the motions the active duty soldiers both in Iraq and stateside are going to feel it effects simply because the Democrats want their anti-war base to see they are doing something.
I don't like people playing politics with our soldiers in the middle of a war. If the Democrats want to stop the war like I have said before cut funding. Stop the political posturing and cut funding and send everyone home. They war will be over and all of you with war fatigue from watching CNN every day can breath a sigh of relief. If they are not willing to cut funding then shut up, pass the bill, and support the troops. Supporting the troops is not a bumper sticker. The Democrats for a long time have been able to get away with their bumper sticker support of the troops, now is their chance to actually show it, which as is being currently seen; they are showing their true colors instead.
By the way no where I have I said I hate liberals, but I have had plenty of liberals say they hate me.
At the same time one needs to ask the question, "Why is DOD so dependent on supplementals to begin with?" Of the 94 billion in the bill 13.9 billion is not for Iraq, but for procurement for the various services. Why should that not be in the original DOD Appropriations bill to begin with?. The same with the OMN costs for the war. They knew when the bidget was submitted we would still be in Iraq all year (and the next 10 years). Because it would show the true cost of the war and how it is mortgaging the future of the armed forces. It is a bad practice and as John McCain pointed out a couple of years ago its dishonest.
Regarding whether Congress has a right to do this I would remind all of the US Constitution:
Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution clearly says that Congress has the right.
' To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that use shall be for a longer term than two years . . . '
Juan Cole has some good words more over here: http://www.juancole.com/2007/03/reality-based-leg…
I agree with McCain on his point when he made it and I have been a big McCain supporter on this blog, but it is irrelevant to what is going on now.
The fact is the Democrats are the ones playing political theatre while our soldiers are not receiving the funding and equipment they need. You can't blame it on the Repbublicans because the Democrats are the ones in charge of the Congress. This is one of the good things about having Democrats in charge, they can no longer just show bumper sticker support for the troops.
dems are cut and run always have been and always will be
its hilarious to hear them gripe about how the US military didnt have the necessary equipment to go to war back in 2003
armored humvee's, flak jackets and so on but they wont acknowledge clinton's gutting and demoralizing the military during his 8 years in office
shhhhhhh they never want to discuss those points
GI,
Please don't gush about Bush and the Republicans.
The United States government has had all three branches controlled by Republicans for the last six years that our country has been preparing for war and actually at war.
While the current political posturing is irritating, a couple months of Democratic congressional control can't be blamed for most of the current problems faced by the United States military, it's preparation, it equipping, it's long-term funding and the care of it's returning soldiers.
There is a lot of blind support for Bush in the military… but he is certainly not the military's friend… after all, the Decider authorized an under-planned, under-equipped operation with the "Army you have, not the Army you want". At the same time, more pork was funneled to companies like Haliberton for dubious expenditures than to GIs who needed armored transportation… etc.
(Arguably, Carter killed fewer American servicememers than Bush. Yeah! Who's the Man, now? "Carter 2008" should be on every military member's bumper.)
The sad reality is that neither Democrats, nor what currently passes for Republicans, care about American servicemembers unless it is politically expedient to do so.
In the end, the Republicans are below worthless… and, GI, you are right. The Democrats are worse.
…because they are now almost the same.
When Americans pull themselves away from American Idol long enough to objectively take a look at what is going on instead of relying on soundbites to form political opinion and giving blind support to the lesser of two evil parties, we will be on the right track to retaking our country.
J!
He won't look at the Republicans ineptitude because he has already made up his mind that three months of a Democrat controlled congress is the reason for everything bad in the world. People like him run solely on Rush and Hannaty sound bites without investigating facts. The fact is the Dems have pushed for all the VA funding over the last 12 years of a Repub congress and the Repubs have overwhelmingly voted against it. They held the purse strings for every program — period. The tax money goes somewhere no matter who's in charge. This guy would rather his tax money go to Exxon, KBR, and the rest of GWB and Dick's buddies than to the returning wounded vets. You see how he avoids these issues. I never understood how anyone making less than $500K/year would vote for a party that routinely diverts money to those making more than that. I guess it's a pretty easy con-job on some, just twist the truth, wave the flag and call everyone else a traitor if they don't get into lockstep.
Once you guys keep changing the subject from the matter at hand. Bottom line is that the Democrats are denying funding to the soldiers in order to score political points. Airmen at Osan can't even use hot water to wash their clothes in due to the lack of funds:
http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&a…
People want to keep bringing up unrelated issues that have nothing to do with the current spending bill, to obscure the matter at hand that the Democrats are not providing funding for the troops.
Which brings me back to my overall point, either cut funding totally and bring everyone back or support the soldiers fighting in Iraq. It is that simple.
The Democrats are trying to have it both ways. The current theatre going on is to appease their anti-war base but they will eventually end the theatre and pass a bill that will fund the soldiers. How long that is going to take who knows. However, if the current surge strategy works they can say they funded it and if it fails they can say they tried to stop it. In the meantime our airmen in Osan are stuck with cold water. That is our political leadership in Washington.
By the way since goout keeps bringing up the VA funding this link might prove interesting:
http://www.factcheck.org/article144.html
Funding for the VA has increased dramatically during the Bush years but the VA is still requesting more which hopefully they will get. I think veterans should be funded better than livestock and cattle. Now is the Democrats chance to make good on all their past promises and I hope they do.
Again, not entirely the truth. Republicans claim that Veterans Affairs spending will actually increase, but that would be true only if one ignores rising health care costs. The VA has never been fully funded under the Bush administration. By not fully funding and not keeping up with costs, the funding becomes inadequate to take care of the vets that already require care, not to mention the significant increase in disabled vets over the last few years as a result of war. As you've probably figured out – I am a disabled vet and life member of the DAV. The current under funding (cuts) could cause approximately half of all veterans to lose their only source of medical care and might prevent them from receiving their disability pensions over the next 10 years. Also, I'm sure you've read about the Army's track record of under rating enlisted disabilities compared to officers, does anyone believe that it is just coincidence? The VA "reductions" are one of the ways that GWB paid for his $726 billion 10-year tax cut a few years ago (Mostly for the top 2% income levels and corporations). Like I said before. The money is going to get spent no matter who's in charge, someone is going to pay the bill and lately it's been the middle class payin' and the upper class receivin'. I just want that scenario to change. You are absolutely right about one thing though — the Iraq war is a political platform and the Repubs are using it as much as the Dems. I hope they do cut funds outright and bring it to an end.
GI,
You are absolutely right concerning the actions of the current Democratic congress. Upon a second reading, I sounded more disagreeable than I meant to.
I wasn't intending to change the subject… just trying to show the current political game-playing and lack of concern for American servicemembers is not necessarily a function of Democrats but a function of the current crop of ratty politicians, regardless of party, in American government these days.
Interesting that Osan can't supply it's airmen with hot water yet still has a budget to maintain a couple of planes to fly senior leadership to lunches at Kunsan or shopping at Kadina. I bet I could make a whole list of non-essential items that are mysteriously funded which could be dropped to get our hard-working airmen some hot water.
J!
Chickenhead,
I agree with you that both parties are crap, but from strictly a military perspective the Republicans are the lesser of two evils. The Republicans despite their faults have never held up funding for the military. Like you said before they are capable of theatre as well but it has never impacted funding.
I cannot ever remember a Secretary of Defense coming out begging for funding like Gates had to do last week or he would have to extend combat deployments and cut services on US bases. How these Congressmen who say they support the troops can play this political game that directly impacts the military is really chilling.
goout,
As the link pointed out the Republicans have increased funding for the VA but not enough according to the VA. In my opinion the Democrats in the past have been saying they would get the VA the money they needed simply to score political points. Now is their chance since they are in charge to properly fund the VA. As can be seen from this latest legislation they have other priorities just like the Republicans that are more important than properly funding the VA.
I don't know a lot about the Army, but I do know a lot about the Navy. And a lot of items in that bill have nothing to do with the literal "Cost of War". My point is that the way we are doing this is a subtrefuge to keep from identifying the real cost of the Defense budget. And if, God willing the war were to end, we will have instilled a bad habit in DOD and Congress that will keep the Army and the rest of the services resourced for the next war. (And for the current actions other places.)
Plus I would challenge you to actually read the bill. The Republicans NOT the Democrats put 162,400 dollars for a Congressman's widow.
Both sides are guilty of playing politics with this bill. I also believe strongly that aircraft procrurment does not belong in a supplemental.
You silly guys.
While you bicker about petty partisan politics, the VA's funding problems are on their way to being solved by skilled appointed officials and dedicated bureaucrats!
Everybody just needs to join the Homeland team, support their caring leadership and trust their benevolent government…
…to do anything less, bolsters the insurgency, aids the Terrorists and questions one's patriotism.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070409/kors
J!