North (San Diego) County Times: Incredibly, Marines still lack armor

[question everything]

Thursday, June 30, 2005

Incredibly, Marines still lack armor

Our Marines and soldiers are still dying ---- not because of the skill, determination and strength of an enemy, but because the vaunted U.S. war machine has failed to deliver armored vehicles. Our leaders have made other mistakes, but none is more troubling than this failure to protect our troops.

The banality of this failure was exposed in excruciating detail by The New York Times and the Boston Globe over the last week in reports we published through our wire services. Put simply, bureaucracy and poor leadership are killing our troops ---- from the White House, to the Pentagon, to Marine headquarters, to military contractors, to the oversight committees in Congress.

In a telling example, Marine commanders told Congress last week that the armor to upgrade hundreds of Humvees has been sitting in Kuwait since April. The problem was "lack of leadership," said Maj. Gen. William D. Catto, head of the Marine Corps Systems Command.

(snip)

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/06/30/opinion/editorials/18_31_466_29_05.txt

[phoebe]

1. looks like the admin. almost prefers that the soldiers don't come

home - no armor, seemingly endless rotations, pay cuts, no benefits, no exit strategy..and no funeral attendances.. and on and on..

[indepat]

2. Compassionate conservatism at its zenith

[Igel]

3. I have open contempt for editorials that make

a claim and then never actually cite either necessary or sufficient support for it. Granted, and editorial is basically somebody saying, "Hey! Here's what I think ... no reason needed." But I still like reasons with the opinions I'm offered.

[DrZeeLit]

4. Wow...that's from Escondido/No County... a Repub stronghold.

I only hope this bodes ill for Randy Duke Cunningham.
I grew up there and my mom's a member of the Repub Women's Club.
Oi! I'm hoping she read this!!!

(I'm the black sheep in the family... tee hee)

[Cha]

5. This is why I have

a PROTECT OUR TROOPS! blue magnetic sticker on the back of my car.