Bush's War Against the Military By Ian Williams, In These Times. Posted October 27, 2004. Bush has failed the military on almost every level – marking the difference between being militaristic and pro-military. George W. Bush so often invokes his nominal title of "commander in chief" at veterans' rallies, on military bases and during presidential debates that he now appears like some latter-day caudillo. But his claims to be a commander of any kind in any serious way are a figment of his imagination. Discounting that he sent American troops into Iraq on false pretenses, a real commander would fight for the welfare of his troops. But Bush has demonstrated a consistent unwillingness to do so, and as a result many high-ranking officers have endorsed Kerry, including retired Navy Adm. William Crowe and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army Gen. John Shalikashvili. Bush has failed the military on almost every level. While Halliburton and Boeing went to the bank this year with about $10 billion each, undermanned U.S. forces went into Iraq without armored vests and driving unarmored vehicles. The fatal results were hidden from public view as the dead were secreted home and the Department of Defense (DOD) obscured and juggled the numbers of maimed and wounded. Once back in the United States, veterans found no federal welcome mat laid out for them. By April this year, one in six veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan had filed benefits claims with the Veterans Administration for service-related disabilities. These figures do not include those troops still serving and are twice the number the DOD Web site says suffered "Non-Mortal Wounds" in those conflicts. Today, one-third of those claims, almost 10,000, have yet to be processed. Further, Bush's 2005 budget will cut 540 staff members of the Veterans Benefit Administration, which is the office that handles the claims. The outreach department that lets vets know of available services also was instructed in a 2002 memo by a deputy undersecretary in the Veterans Health Administration to run in silent mode to flush out people who had not made claims out of ignorance. Even if the war wounded succeed in getting disability pay, in 2003 Bush threatened to veto a bill that allowed veterans to collect disability pay and pensions simultaneously. In 2003, his administration also tried to cut combat pay from $225 to $150 a month and the family separation allowance from $250 to $100. And most callously of all, the frat brat who ducked a war that killed 48,000 American troops threatened to veto a proposal to double the $6,000 payment to relatives of soldiers killed in action. That is typical of the way in which President Bush, who loves to dress up in uniform, treats those who actually wear one. As a June 30, 2003, Army Times editorial concluded: "President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress have missed no opportunity to heap richly deserved praise on the military. But talk is cheap and getting cheaper by the day, judging by the nickel-and-dime treatment the troops are getting lately." In his ghostwritten 1999 biography "A Charge to Keep," an indignant Bush wrote: "Nearly twelve thousand members of the armed forces are on food stamps. I support increased pay and better benefits and training for our citizen solders. A volunteer military has only two paths. It can lower its standards to fill its ranks. Or it can inspire the best and brightest to join and stay." Despite four years to do something about it, more than 250,000 military families did not get Bush's much-vaunted child tax credit because their breadwinner earned less than $26,000 a year. And in his 2005 budget, Bush proposes only that combat pay not count toward eligibility for food stamps – for which no less than 25,000 military families are eligible. The U.S. Army pay scale is about half that of the British, which is why there is a major crisis in military recruitment. Senior officers talk about a "serious crisis" in recruitment for the regular forces. In addition, the Iraq war has put heavy demands on reservists and guard units. For the first time in 10 years, the guard failed to meet its recruitment target. In one Indiana unit, for instance, the reenlistment rate has dropped from 85 percent to 32 percent. You would think that the Bush administration would be solicitous of the foot soldiers who carry out its imperial ambitions. But this administration is militaristic, not pro-military. Most of its members sedulously avoided combat and uniformed service of any kind in previous wars and most current enlisted personnel come from small town, blue-collar America, precisely the people whose voices are among the least heard. It is no surprise that Labor Secretary Elaine Chao's proposals for cutting back legal entitlement to overtime pay this year included all those who had learned their skill in the military. All of this penny-pinching may seem strange in light of Bush's desperate attempts to associate himself with the military. But when he dons a flak jacket, the president is not looking to win over those GIs who have just had their term extended on stop-loss orders, but those TV-viewing voters who put the military on a pedestal as the guarantor of American virtues.
Higher pay for the military is just another welfare expenditure for Bush -Cheney. After all not even extended family of them or their buds will benefit. Now give them a star wars or some multi-billion dollar weapons system that they and their buds at Carlyle and Halliiburton can get a cut of and your talking. As we saw with Cheney last time he left government sure makes for some nice pay afterwards. Funny thing. Conservos who always are cynical about government when it comes to food stamps, healthcare, education etc. never believe that Bush-Cheny would ever think that way.
You will have plenty of time to cut & paste anti-Bush articles after next Tuesday's Presidential Election results... (No "when you are living in a van down by the river" Chris Farley jokes ) Let's just get one (1) No Worries sticky thread going for all of these non-stop liberal/ anti-war in Iraq articles that are sure to follow in the next 6 days.
Let's just get one (1) No Worries sticky thread going for all of these non-stop liberal/ anti-war in Iraq article My laugh outloud thread for the day. Where is basso with his 5 per day, far outnumbering probably the next 5 posters together.
Sorry, I was just judging based on the front page of the D&D and looking back on a few other pages from days/ weeks ago it is fairly close. But seriously... No Worries takes the cake
My brother recently attended a presentation by General Jack Sheehan who was the Marine General who had been Supreme Allied Commander for the Atlantic, and a part of the defense team under Bush. Sheehan retired from the Bush admnistration because of ethical reasons regarding their policy on Iraq. Sheehan is now a VP at Bechtel and making money off of the reconstruction, but keeps his principles ahead of his pocket book. Sheehan told the group how sickened he was by what Bush did concerning Falujah. During the initial incursion into Falujah the U.S. took two Iraq commanders, and units inside with them. Bush ignored the Iraqi leader's advice and ideas despite their superior knowledge of the situation. After a couple of days Bush called and ordered them to pull out because at home he couldn't take the casualties. The Iraqi companies were left inside their, and in Gen. Sheehan's words they were decapitated, and their troops were decimated. That happened because of politics. Then when they went back in, they once again took Iraqi troops with them and armed them with second rate weaponry. This is what a Former Bush General and supreme commander had to say about what's going on. I feel awful for everyone involved.
FB, do you have a link that might provide something directly from General Sheehan? That's a hell of a story, and a hell of an indictment of how this war is being run. Has this just stayed under the radar, and I missed it? If Sheehan is speaking openly of this, shouldn't there be more made of it by the media? Are we getting so overwhelmed by information that things like this are being "run over" by the latest "he said, she said" stuff coming out of the campaigns? Keep D&D Civil!! and Vote! (just be civil doing it!)
great post FB I am beyond scared and angry right now. My sister believes that any minute she will be getting orders telling her she is going to Iraq. I almost cry thinking that she could be put in unnecessary jeopardy b/c of the jackass in Washington who will put his political perception ahead of her safety.
No I don't have a link. It was a presentation that my brother went to that somehow related to work. Sheehan was really there to talk to the financial analysts about the reconstruction. Sheehan is from Bechtel and they are doing reconstruction in Iraq right now. My brother said that Sheehan showed a before and after pic of a bridge, and something else that was destroyed and now built back up. He said that after that Sheehan just went off about Iraq. Sheehan also spoke with disgust about the Patriot act. He mentioned that the owner of Abu Dabi oil company's son goes to Texas A&M, and that every time the owner of one of the world's largest oil companies comes to the U.S. to see his son, he ends up going through dentention. I don't have a link, and for the sake of fairness, this comes from what my brother told me about what General Sheehan said at the presentation. So it is very much hearsay, and from a second or third party at that. I trust my brother's account, and I hope my repitition of his account is accurate, but I won't be offended if nobody gives any of the story any weight.
FB, I was googling around, trying to see if I could find something from General Sheehan regarding what your brother heard (and it's not that I didn't believe you, but you know how things are now), and I came across this... Check this out: 10-18-2004 Memo for the President-Elect By David H. Hackworth Since our commander-in-chief announced "mission accomplished" on May 1, 2003, the insurgents have seized the initiative in Iraq. And we're also not winning the even-more-consequential worldwide battle against the Islamic jihadists. All because our forces are trying to do too much with too little the wrong way. Lately, I've been shoveling through literally truckloads of reader queries along the lines of "OK, Hack, you spent most of the past two years griping, so what's your solution?" It's a question that needs an answer. So, as a long-term student of insurgent warfare and a soldier who's fought guerrillas in post-World-War-II Italy, during the Korean War and for more than four years in Vietnam, here's what I would do: -Immediately fire SecDef Donald Rumsfeld, all of his Pentagon senior civilian assistants and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Richard Myers. -Replace Rumsfeld with retired Gen. Anthony Zinni and give this tough, smart, proven leader a free hand to bring in the best people to reshape and streamline our armed forces for the long counterinsurgency fight ahead. -Fire National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and replace her with retired Gens. Wes Clark or John Sheehan. -Establish a military objective - an often-neglected Principle of War - that will include: how the U.S. is going to regain the lost initiative (another neglected Principle of War) and how we're going to take and hold the turf seized by insurgents; how we will then win the Iraqi people to our side in the fight against the insurgents; how the nascent Iraqi defense shield will eventually replace our forces; and a detailed, coherent exit plan. -Force our coalition partners in Iraq to either move out of the safety of their forts and start participating in the campaign or go home. So far, they've added little to the fight except providing an opportunity for politicos to crow about the unity of a coalition in which we're doing almost all the heavy lifting. -Replace our conventional-thinking generals in Iraq and in other hot spots with leaders - preferably Special Forces - who understand the nature of insurgency, and leave them in place until we execute our exit plan. -Double and then triple the size of our forces in Afghanistan - or we'll soon be following in the Soviets' loser boot-steps. This is one of the main events in our global fight with insurgents and should receive top priority. -Establish a comprehensive course on counterinsurgency warfare that every commander from lieutenant to general would be required to pass, culminating in a butt-busting final exam certifying that graduates have qualified for counterinsurgency warfare at their particular level. A fail would mean immediate discharge. -Toughen boot-camp standards for all soldiers and make them as realistic, demanding and disciplined as those sweated through by past generations. Then maintain this level throughout the regular and Reserve forces. -Merge the Army National Guard and Reserve forces into one formation modeled after the Marine Corps Reserves but configured for the post-Cold War fight against international insurgency. -Provide the states with limited funds to establish a light infantry/military police/state militia force for emergencies such as fires and storms, and for Homeland Defense missions. -Reorganize the Army from A to Z, starting with doubling the size of Special Ops Forces and maneuver units, gutting the Cold War stuff and adding more civil-affairs, psych-war and military-police units. Deep-six the folks who excel in PowerPoint briefings but add nothing to the critical missions at hand, beginning with the pernicious, pervasive Pentagon blubber and working down to brigade level. -Overhaul the Army's antique personnel system, which has fostered the current corrosive corporate general officer system that's made many officers and senior NCOs careerists rather than two-fisted leaders. Use Maj. Donald Vandergriff's book, The Path to Victory, as a primer for this desperately needed reform. -Reduce or scrap most of the multibillion-dollar porker programs such as Star Wars II, and spike orders for platinum-plated Cold War II ships and aircraft. Then use the funds to arm and equip our warriors appropriately. -Make every military leader from buck sergeant to four-star memorize Sun Tzu's The Art of War, and Imperial Hubris, by "Anonymous." That's, of course, for openers .... ======= Col. David H. Hackworth (USA Ret.) is SFTT.org co-founder and Senior Military Columnist for DefenseWatch magazine. For information on his many books, go to his home page at Hackworth.com, where you can sign in for his free weekly Defending America. Send mail to P.O. Box 11179, Greenwich, CT 06831. His newest book is "Steel My Soldiers' Hearts." © 2004 David H. Hackworth. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com. http://www.fromtheroots.org/story/2004/10/20/133747/54 Col. Hackworth, of course, has more decorations than Target has for sale during Christmas. He's very outspoken, to say the least. This is certainly a heck of a read, and he obviously has enough regard for Gen. Jack Sheehan to put him on his short list for National Security Advisor for the President-elect, whoever that might end up being. Keep D&D Civil!! and your head down!
Thanks Deckard. That would be cool if Sheehan was national security advisor. My brother said he was very general-like in every presentation he made, and the matter of fact way in which he spoke. I think that would be a good thing in these times.
Deckard you inspired me to search and see what I could find. I found a few tidbits. This one links Jack Sheehan to the Bush whitehouse in an attempt to make the war for oil connection. Here's a long one back from October 2002
You've got to understand several sad facts about the military: A. the amount of waste on stuff we could do without thanks to pork-barrel spending by our legislators, who view the Pentagon as a vote-buying jobs scheme rather than our method of defense. For example, the Air Farce needs only a couple of the big depots that rebuild and repair airplanes. Right now, correct me if I'm wrong, we have over seven and none will likely be closed. B. The powers-that-be have a serious hard-on for gadgets rather than grunts. Why do we need a damned V-22 Osprey that crashes more times than Windows. We could buy the U.S. built version of this helo, the EH-101, which is in my opinion, the best in the world, now to replace the 40-year old dinosaurs (CH-46 Frogs. I was on one of those bastards that crashed, killing several and nearly ending my life and they were old then). That's just the Marines, for starters. I was hoping that Rummy would actually reform the DOD, as Colin Powell hoped to do at State, but the entrenched bureaucracy has resisted all of his efforts and in my opinion, is behind an attempt to get him fired. It's going to get ugly in the E-Ring.
