Rumsfeld faces tough questions from troops
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Army Spc. Thomas Wilson, for example, of the 278th Regimental Combat Team that is comprised mainly of citizen soldiers of the Tennessee Army National Guard, asked Rumsfeld in a question-and-answer session why vehicle armor is still in short supply, nearly three years after the war in Iraq.
"Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to uparmor our vehicles?" Wilson asked. A big cheer arose from the approximately 2,300 soldiers in the cavernous hangar who assembled to see and hear the secretary of defense.
Rumsfeld hesitated and asked Wilson to repeat his question.
"We do not have proper armored vehicles to carry with us north," Wilson said after asking again.
Rumsfeld replied that, "You go to war with the Army you have," not the one you might want, and that any rate the Army was pushing manufacturers of vehicle armor to produce it as fast as humanly possible.
And, the defense chief added, armor is not always a savior in the kind of combat U.S. troops face in Iraq, where the insurgents' weapon of choice is the roadside bomb, or improvised explosive device.
"You can have all the armor in the world on a tank and it can (still) be blown up," Rumsfeld said.
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I heard the sound clip of this on NPR this moning. RUmmy's was the *lamest answer ever*, and his hesitating tone showed it.
Is he saying it was so absolutely necesary to go to war when we did, that that trumped taking the time to equip our fighters properly?
recruit tears Rummy a new one
recruit tears Rummy a new one
"I recommend that you delete the Rancid Snakepit" - Grant
Mark Evanier summed it up nicely on his blog... Rumsfield keeping his job while half the cabinet gets fired is like a real-life version of the final episode of the Mary Tyler-Moore Show.
Gosh, I wonder if Rumsfield's untouchable status has anything to do with the fact that he gave Dick Cheney his first-ever government job back in the 70's? I bet Rummy could dance naked on the White House lawn and still keep his job.
Gosh, I wonder if Rumsfield's untouchable status has anything to do with the fact that he gave Dick Cheney his first-ever government job back in the 70's? I bet Rummy could dance naked on the White House lawn and still keep his job.