"required to rummage through junkyards to improvise armor plate
shielding for their transport vehicles for protection from IED and small
arms attacks. The Specialist queried Dumbsfeld as to why such armor and
special vehicles were not being supplied by our military."
|
|
Sir Ronald Dumbsfeld THE PENTAGON'S BELOVED DUMMY
Posted December 15, 2004
thepeoplesvoice.org
By: Ted Lang
It's beginning to look a lot like our Secretary of Offense and Department of
Warmongering, Sir Ronald Dumbsfeld, or "Dummy," as his colleagues and some
in the media affectionately call him, has once again taken the time to
graciously bring US up to speed on the war effort. He has also demonstrated
more compassionate conservatism by visiting "the front" [Kuwait?] and being
with the troops to wish them "Happy Holidays!" While portraying himself as
one of the troops, they began asking him some sticky questions, requiring
some political soft shoe maneuvers demonstrating his skill in responding
crisply with assertiveness and delivering well thought-out responses.
It was only a few days ago, on the anniversary of Pearl Harbor, that other
great federal fraud where thousands of our own were sacrificed in order to
inspire mass hatred in the minds of the general public, that "Dummy"
observed that it may take yet another four years to pull our troops out of
Iraq. Hmmmm. How many more years is the Bush regime supposed to last?
Of course, "Dummy" has always conveyed radically bold predictions, proving
not only his intuitiveness and total command of military strategy and
planning, but his leadership skills and total dedication to our military
itself. He told reporters in Kuwait that he "hopes" the troops can be
pulled out before Bush's second term ended, but pointed out that they will
remain in Iraq until Bush decides they are no longer needed. I guess that
means Bush will also remain in power for precisely the same reason: for as
long as he feels himself needed. History kinda repeats itself you see,
especially for the ignorant that allow themselves the bliss of being kept
that way.
It may be recalled that Secretary Dumbsfeld believed Iraq would be a
"cakewalk" as predicted by the Pent-a-gun hawks and Deputy Secretary of War,
Paul Wolf-of-wits. The mental mural painted by the hawks and Wolf of the
Iraqis welcoming US with open arms and throwing flower petals in the paths
of our patriotic expeditionary forces, never materialized. And who can
forget that memorable bounce and smirk by "Dummy's" commander-and-chief
swaggering along on the deck of the U.S.S. Lincoln, proclaiming that the
conflict was over and won? What a team!
According to a December 9th article in the Washington Post, by Staff Writer
Thomas E. Ricks, Offense Secretary Dumbsfeld, when speaking to troops
deploying for Iraq, ". got an earful of complaints about poor combat
equipment, personnel policies that keep soldiers in the Army beyond their
terms of enlistment, and other issues that reflect the strains the war in
the Middle East is placing on the U.S. military."
The article goes on to describe a "town-hall-style meeting," during which
one Specialist, Thomas Wilson, described how he and his comrades-in-arms
were required to rummage through junkyards to improvise armor plate
shielding for their transport vehicles for protection from IED and small
arms attacks. The Specialist queried Dumbsfeld as to why such armor and
special vehicles were not being supplied by our military.
It may be recalled that back in October a supply unit refused orders
[mutinied] rather than be exposed to precisely the dangerous and unprotected
conditions Specialist Wilson described. And of course, since this so-called
military crime was executed at the "grunt" level, you may be assured that
the perfumed princes of the military leadership and the empty suits
represented by our bought-and-paid-for politicians, will court martial them. http://www.juiceenewsdaily.com/
1204/news/reporter_plant.html
"Dummy's" response: "As you know, you go to war with the Army you have.
They are not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time."
Excellent point, but totally irrelevant to the question asked! That
response would be acceptable only in the case of a surprise attack against
US necessitating precisely such a hastily assembled and unplanned ragtag
logistical nightmare; but then what about that "cakewalk," and "flower
petals" and the Bush declaration of victory? The article continues to quote
Dumbsfeld as saying: "If you think about it, you can have all the armor in
the world on a tank and a tank can be blown up." But again, that wasn't the
issue - the issue was a lack of armor that in fact could provide protection
for Humvees and transports from IEDs and small arms fire.
Also on the 9th and carried on the Drudge Report, Edward Lee Pitts, a
Chattanooga Times Free Press reporter assigned to the 278th Regimental
Combat Team, offered that he had prepped Wilson to pop the question to
"Dummy," offering that ".the place erupted in cheers so loud that Rumsfeld
had to ask the guy to repeat his question." Obviously, "Dummy," taken aback
by the outburst, needed time to evaluate both the question as well as the
spontaneous reaction from his audience. Pitts states that "Dummy" offered
something along the lines of, "It's not a lack of desire or money but a
logistics/physics problem." BRILLIANT!!! And logistics is not a function
of military deployment? BRILLIANT!!!
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/
articles/2004/12/10/us_stance_o
n_armor_disputed/
And now for some down home candor from the offensive coach: Pitts offers how
"Dummy" reflected that he had recently seen "about" eight [what an
estimate!] of the special up-armored Humvees guarding Washington, DC, and he
promised that they would no longer be used in Washington but would be sent
to the troops. Hey, that might work! BRILLIANT!!! How many IED and small
arms attacks have been directed against the bought-and-paid-for empty suits in the District of Corruption?
According to an article in the Boston Globe on its website entitled "US
stance of armor disputed - Company says vehicle orders waiting for OK,"
Bryan Bender in his December 10th report states: "Despite Secretary of
Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld's assertion that the military is outfitting
Humvees with armor as quickly as possible, the company providing the
vehicles said it has been waiting since September for approval from the
Pentagon to increase monthly production by as many as 100 of the all-terrain
vehicles, intended to protect against roadside bombs in Iraq."
Bender quotes the manufacturer: "'We're prepared to build 50 to 100 vehicles
more per month,' Robert Mecredy, head of Armor Holdings' aerospace and
defense unit, said in a statement. The company is producing about 450
armored Humvees per month, up from 50 in late 2003, when a sudden surge of
attacks in Iraq exposed a lack of protective armor. The company says that
by February it could be producing as many as 550 fully armored Humvees per
month - with armor plates on the sides, front, rear, top, and bottom - if
given the go-ahead. The company estimated it would cost the military about
$150 million a year to pay for the additional 100 vehicles per month. The
company said it also told the Army it could add new production lines and turn out even more vehicles."
Kinda sounds like the company can do a lot better than merely eight Humvees
"Dummy" has promised our military. Bender writes, "More than half of the
roughly 1,200 US soldiers who have died in Iraq have been killed by roadside
bombs or in ambushes from rocket-propelled grenades. A lack of armor on
thousands of older vehicles has been blamed for many of the deaths."
The article quotes der Schmirkmeister as explaining, "'If I were a soldier
overseas wanting to defend my country, I'd want to ask the secretary of
defense the same question, and that is, are we getting the best we can get
us?' Bush told reporters in the Oval Office." Huh?! Is US getting the best
we can get we, or is dem gettin' the best we got dem? Who's we?
BRILLIANT!!! Und of course der Fuehrer advised that the Pent-a-gun was on top of things.
Other issues at the town-hall meeting, such as lack of personal equipment,
ammunition, "stop-loss" orders and even delays in soldiers' paychecks
causing hardships for military families back home, were brought up as well.
"Dummy's" response to the pay issue: "That's just not right." How about a
little Alexander Haig here "Dummy" - who's in charge? And of course Bush
supports the right of the troops to question the Secretary - but the grunts
who did the right thing by refusing suicidal orders using 'dead-lined' or
un-armored vehicles will face courts martial anyway, right Mr. Secretary? I
wonder how long it will take Nazis-r-US to get that Specialist
"disappeared!"
-###-
© THEODORE E. LANG 12/11/04 All rights reserved.
Ted Lang is a political analyst and a freelance writer.
|