More Bush and Rumsfeld Lies, lead to Soldier deaths. Is this support?

Donald Rumsfeld was put up against the proverbial wall earlier this week when a guardsman asked about lack of armament on military vehicles trudging through mined roads in Iraq, his now famous answer made it seem like he wasn’t aware of the problem. Further responses to the minor political crisis from both President Bush and Ret.Gen. Michael Delong, seemed to point that they had no knowledge of the problem until this soldier spoke up. Echoing a statement made earlier on Thursday by General Whitcomb, Gen. Delong stated “We didn’t know [about the rise in insurgency], and the Iraqis we talked to said this would be a fairly orderly takeover.” Ret. Gen Delong was Deputy Commander of Centcom from 2000 to 2003.

Debating the commander, Paul Rieckhoff, 1st Lieutenant and Platoon leader now of Operation Truth, was quick to note that duct tape, sand bags, and old flak jackets his units armor during his time in Iraq. When Lt. Rieckhoff was asked about whether he shared Rumsfeld's feeling that it was a matter of physics and production, he added that the Armored Holding Company in Florida submitted to the Department of Defense a proposal to ramp up armor kit production by 22%. More than a month has elapsed without a response from the DOD.

President Bush said he would ask the Secretary “the same question” and would want to know “our troops have the best possible equipment.” Bush also wanted military families to know that the administration is “doing everything [it] possibly can to protect your loved ones in a mission which is vital and important.”

The CIA’s national intelligence officer for the Near East and South Asia, Paul Pillar, stated in September that the CIA knew the Insurgency would be present in a war with Iraq as much as 3 years ago. This information was given to the White House in January of 2003 in two separate intelligence reports from the National Intelligence Council. The insurgency should not have been a surprise. Moreover, an AP report from October 14, 2003 (and others) reports of anemic body armor and equipment supplies.

More than 40,000 soldiers went into Iraq without proper body armor. Half of all wounded or dead soldiers were attacked with an Improvised Explosive Device. The insurgency should not have come as a surprise to anyone in the administration, and equipment woes have troubled troops for more than a year. Indeed recently, there has been a lawsuit to further document the lack of safety in our armed divisions in Iraq.

While it was fine to watch a young Lieutenant cleverly debate a retired General on Jim Lehrer’s Newshour, action and accountability are now required. The administration should stop using the excuse of ignorance, and start admitting they are lacking what the soldiers in Iraq have been using for survival. Adaptation.