It's All Clinton's Fault

You've heard how Bill Clinton did something awful to America's military (& the industrial half of the complex, as well) by not continuing to increase its size when there was no more menace from the Commies (as if that were any reason to downsize the military). Of course, you've heard it from the blood-lusting war-mongers of the right, who rely on kickbacks from the defense industry disguised as campaign donations to the Republican Party for their war chests. Imagine, then, our surprise when we found out that Bush's Unsuccessful Wars, besides killing about 4,500 American service people & who knows how many innocent civilians, have also pretty much ruined our Army, Navy, Air Force & Marines. This is not a right wing fantasy, as accusations against Clinton's sensible drawdown were, it's real. See?

The military is scrambling to re-equip because the Pentagon failed to plan for the long and expensive war in Iraq, Murtha said. That failure, he said, makes the Pentagon's plan to add 92,000 new soldiers and Marines unrealistic. Although new troops would help reduce repeated, lengthy deployments, he said, there are more pressing demands. "It's going to come from personnel cuts," Murtha said. "That's where it's going to come from. They know it." Pentagon leaders realize they face a choice between a larger military and improved equipment, said Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We must reset, reconstitute and revitalize our ground forces," Mullen told a Senate panel in May. However, the costs "will force us to a smaller military or force us away from any kind of modernization or programs that we need for the future." [...] •The Army wants $17 billion a year, for as many as three years after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan end, to re-equip itself. Since December, the Army has issued repair contracts worth more than $1 billion for armored Bradley Fighting Vehicles. •The Marine Corps estimates it will cost $15.6 billion to replace its damaged or destroyed equipment, including light armored vehicles "lost in combat." •The Air Force puts its costs at $10 billion. Sue Payton, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, told Congress that the wars' demands have "taken a toll on our airlift and air-refueling aircraft." Murtha said the Pentagon will need much more. He put the cost at more than $100 billion. "We went unprepared. And we're paying a heavy price for it." Repairs have skyrocketed in recent years. The Army repaired 6,000 rifles and handguns per year before the Iraq war. This year, that number jumped to 200,000, said James Dwyer, with the Army Materiel Command.

Heckuva job, Bushie. You & the military morons who didn't plan ahead. At this rate, the Chicoms will be riding the Ferris Wheel at the Santa Monica Pier before Xmas, & Hugo Chavez will be wintering in South Miami.