H
Harry Hope
Guest
"I believe this is much worse than Vietnam," replied Mr. Murtha, a
former Marine intelligence officer who was wounded twice during his
tour of duty in Southeast Asia.
"You don't have any idea who the enemy is. You're just walking down
the street, and somebody pops out. You don't see anybody, and [you]
get blown up."
Mr. Murtha said he frequently visits wounded soldiers at military
hospitals in the Washington area to listen to their stories.
"The mental anguish that they go through is absolutely unbelievable,"
he said.
In recent weeks, Mr. Murtha has held several closed meetings of the
House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which he chairs.
Army and Marine commanders, he said yesterday, have warned him about
decreases in the readiness of strategic reserve force -- those units
that could respond rapidly in an emergency.
At the beginning of the Iraq war, almost all active combat units were
ranked at the highest rate of readiness, but many now face worrisome
equipment shortages, Mr. Murtha said.
The Air Force and Navy reserves could quickly deploy to any crisis
area, but Mr. Murtha said the country lacks the ground troops needed
to sustain another long-term military operation.
Defense Department officials, in a recent report to Congress, argued
that combat commanders have the necessary tools to complete any
mission assigned by the president.
.............................................................................................
Mr. Murtha expressed concerns that repeated and intense combat
experiences in Iraq are causing serious mental health problems for
soldiers, while long absences from home are a strain on military
families.
He outlined his plan for a phased redeployment, starting with the
symbolic razing of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, where some
American troops abused detainees.
He also called for U.S. soldiers to abandon the Green Zone and bases
in Saddam Hussein's former palaces, arguing that these have become
symbols of an American occupation.
He argued that military commanders could orchestrate a safe, quick
withdrawal from Iraq, leaving behind a much smaller number of American
troops in the region, possibly in Kuwait or Iraq's Kurdish north.
Those units could respond quickly to a major crisis.
From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/24/07:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07024/756240-84.stm
Murtha says Iraq deployments straining military gear
By Jerome L. Sherman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WASHINGTON --
Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania yesterday warned that the nation's
armed forces face a $100 billion shortfall in equipment because of the
stress of repeated deployments in Iraq.
In an appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he
also said the thousands of new American troops heading to Baghdad to
quell the city's violence will confront far more difficult combat
conditions -- street fighting, unseen enemies, roadside bombs -- than
he did as a soldier serving in Vietnam 40 years ago.
The Johnstown Democrat, speaking just hours before President Bush's
State of the Union address, again called for a quick withdrawal,
warning of dire consequences for the military if the United States
didn't change course.
"Our military equipment inventories are unacceptably low," said Mr.
Murtha, the highest ranking House member in control of defense
spending.
"We must not lose our capability to deter future threats."
Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., the Foreign Relations Committee
chairman, invited Mr. Murtha to speak yesterday because of his
expertise on military issues and his high profile as a critic of the
Bush administration's Iraq policies.
_____________________________________________
The Bush Crime Family can't handle the truth.
Harry
former Marine intelligence officer who was wounded twice during his
tour of duty in Southeast Asia.
"You don't have any idea who the enemy is. You're just walking down
the street, and somebody pops out. You don't see anybody, and [you]
get blown up."
Mr. Murtha said he frequently visits wounded soldiers at military
hospitals in the Washington area to listen to their stories.
"The mental anguish that they go through is absolutely unbelievable,"
he said.
In recent weeks, Mr. Murtha has held several closed meetings of the
House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, which he chairs.
Army and Marine commanders, he said yesterday, have warned him about
decreases in the readiness of strategic reserve force -- those units
that could respond rapidly in an emergency.
At the beginning of the Iraq war, almost all active combat units were
ranked at the highest rate of readiness, but many now face worrisome
equipment shortages, Mr. Murtha said.
The Air Force and Navy reserves could quickly deploy to any crisis
area, but Mr. Murtha said the country lacks the ground troops needed
to sustain another long-term military operation.
Defense Department officials, in a recent report to Congress, argued
that combat commanders have the necessary tools to complete any
mission assigned by the president.
.............................................................................................
Mr. Murtha expressed concerns that repeated and intense combat
experiences in Iraq are causing serious mental health problems for
soldiers, while long absences from home are a strain on military
families.
He outlined his plan for a phased redeployment, starting with the
symbolic razing of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, where some
American troops abused detainees.
He also called for U.S. soldiers to abandon the Green Zone and bases
in Saddam Hussein's former palaces, arguing that these have become
symbols of an American occupation.
He argued that military commanders could orchestrate a safe, quick
withdrawal from Iraq, leaving behind a much smaller number of American
troops in the region, possibly in Kuwait or Iraq's Kurdish north.
Those units could respond quickly to a major crisis.
From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 1/24/07:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07024/756240-84.stm
Murtha says Iraq deployments straining military gear
By Jerome L. Sherman, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
WASHINGTON --
Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania yesterday warned that the nation's
armed forces face a $100 billion shortfall in equipment because of the
stress of repeated deployments in Iraq.
In an appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he
also said the thousands of new American troops heading to Baghdad to
quell the city's violence will confront far more difficult combat
conditions -- street fighting, unseen enemies, roadside bombs -- than
he did as a soldier serving in Vietnam 40 years ago.
The Johnstown Democrat, speaking just hours before President Bush's
State of the Union address, again called for a quick withdrawal,
warning of dire consequences for the military if the United States
didn't change course.
"Our military equipment inventories are unacceptably low," said Mr.
Murtha, the highest ranking House member in control of defense
spending.
"We must not lose our capability to deter future threats."
Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr., D-Del., the Foreign Relations Committee
chairman, invited Mr. Murtha to speak yesterday because of his
expertise on military issues and his high profile as a critic of the
Bush administration's Iraq policies.
_____________________________________________
The Bush Crime Family can't handle the truth.
Harry
