Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Not Enough Soldiers in Iraq Then & Now

Read the following and then tell me that enormous f-ups and completely bungled mismanagement are not the name of the game for this shameful admin and War Fans. As the Army is beginning to punish Individual Ready Reserve (IRR) soldiers who have refused to return to active duty and report to the war zone, the Pentagon officials acknowledged Monday that Paul Bremer, the senior US official in Iraq during the 1st yr of the war, told Def Sec Rumsfeld in May 2004 that a far larger number of US troops were needed to effectively fight the insurgency but his advice was rejected. Bremer said in an NBC News interview Sunday that his memo to Rumsfeld suggested half a million troops were needed (more than 3 times the number there at the time) but that Rumsfeld said that they preferred to stay at the existing level of 18 brigades, or about 145,000 troops. On Mon, the Army took initial steps to expel dozens of reservists who failed to report for active duty, in effect warning 100s of others that they too could be penalized if they don't heed orders to return to active service. The proceedings mark a turning pt in the Army's struggle to deploy 1000s of soldiers from the rarely mobilized group of IRR's to war zones in which some have resisted serving. The IRR are soldiers who had previously served on active duty but not completed their 8yr service obligation. Unlike those in the Natl Guard or Army Res, they are not required to stay in training. Many have requested a delay in returning to service, have asked to be exempted or have ignored their orders. The Army began mobilizing them in the summer of 04, reflecting the enormous strain it felt in providing enough soldiers for Iraq at a time when it was becoming apparent that no early withdrawal was likely.
Posted by Tina :: 12:04 AM :: 2 Comments:

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