Another Disappointing Christmas for Rumsfeld

Another Christmas comes and Donald Rumsfeld is still stuck without the Army 'he wished he had'

Wednesday, December 8, 2004

Q: Yes, Mr. Secretary. My question is more logistical. We’ve had troops in Iraq for coming up on three years and we’ve always staged here out of Kuwait. Now why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromise ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles and why don’t we have those resources readily available to us? [Applause] SEC. RUMSFELD: I missed the first part of your question. And could you repeat it for me? Q: Yes, Mr. Secretary. Our soldiers have been fighting in Iraq for coming up on three years. A lot of us are getting ready to move north relatively soon. Our vehicles are not armored. We’re digging pieces of rusted scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass that’s already been shot up, dropped, busted, picking the best out of this scrap to put on our vehicles to take into combat. We do not have proper armament vehicles to carry with us north. SEC. RUMSFELD: I talked to the General coming out here about the pace at which the vehicles are being armored. They have been brought from all over the world, wherever they’re not needed, to a place here where they are needed. I’m told that they are being – the Army is – I think it’s something like 400 a month are being done. And it’s essentially a matter of physics. It isn’t a matter of money. It isn’t a matter on the part of the Army of desire. It’s a matter of production and capability of doing it. As you know, you go to war with the Army you have. They’re not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time. Since the Iraq conflict began, the Army has been pressing ahead to produce the armor necessary at a rate that they believe – it’s a greatly expanded rate from what existed previously, but a rate that they believe is the rate that is all that can be accomplished at this moment. I can assure you that General Schoomaker and the leadership in the Army and certainly General Whitcomb are sensitive to the fact that not every vehicle has the degree of armor that would be desirable for it to have, but that they’re working at it at a good clip. It’s interesting, I’ve talked a great deal about this with a team of people who’ve been working on it hard at the Pentagon. And if you think about it, you can have all the armor in the world on a tank and a tank can be blown up. And you can have an up-armored humvee and it can be blown up. And you can go down and, the vehicle, the goal we have is to have as many of those vehicles as is humanly possible with the appropriate level of armor available for the troops. And that is what the Army has been working on. And General Whitcomb, is there anything you’d want to add to that? GEN. WHITCOMB: Yes, Mr Secretary, you sure are one stupid son-of-a-bitch, aren't you?

Friday, December 23, 2005

Guerrillas stormed an Iraqi army post on Friday, killing 10 soldiers and wounding 20, as Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told U.S. combat troops their numbers would fall as Iraqi forces were trained to take over. While Rumsfeld made a pre-Christmas visit to a Marine base in the subdued rebel stronghold of Falluja, west of Baghdad, gunmen launched a mass assault on the roadside outpost near Adhaim, north of the capital, that lasted all morning. GEN FDUPWTHESELRS: Mr. Secretary, SEC RUMSFELD: Well, I'm back guys... I know....another Christmas. Gentlemen, as you can see from the report there... things are going great for the Iraqi people now....... Hey relax! Will get that armor, soldier! Quit whining...You guys are the guys I'm stuck with.....and the oil wells are starting pump a little more oil ...and, huh,...we got through that election ....and, the goddamn armor will be getting here soon---you wimps!!....uh.. Merry Christmas,...now where's my escort...get my ass out of here....