[brewmonkey]

While I do not agree with all that SEN McCain says or does I have to agree in many respects that Sec Rumsfeld is failing and failing badly. He seems to be turning in to a "yes" man and playing to the President. While he may work for the President he should answer to the troops. He floundered his way through last weeks Q&A with weak answers and it seemed to me like he was trying to pass the buck.

I am all for soldiers being resourceful and "liberating" the items needed (provided that it is not fucking another unit deploying) but when we are coming up on the end of our second year in Iraq and less then 10% of the trucks used daily on logistics missions have the armor they should, then something is wrong. I understand that it is congress who does the financial side of things but it is the Sec Def's job to let them know what our soldiers need to fight. It seems that is is not happening. Things take time, I understand.

It was the same thing in OIF2. We had troops deploying with no body armor, body armor not suited for the operations they were being used for or soldiers buying their own to take, that is FUBAR. It got fixed, and quick. Why is the armor for vehicles not happening the same way? Why cant they appropriate the money, ship plates of steel to Kuwait where welders can fabricate it on the spot? You have some units doing this with their own slush fund money.

Shit like this pisses me off in case you cannot tell. I thought Rumsfeld was a great pick for this position four years ago. It's time for his ass to get off the bench and act like a damn player.