This STILL infuriates me:

[babylonsister]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=100432

So Gen. Casey knows NOTHING of Pentagon report of shortages for soldiers in Iraq?

He's being grilled on CSPAN; he claims he has no knowledge of any shortages of key protective equipment despite the report released by the Pentagon.
How likely is this? And if so, who's wagging this dog?

Report: U.S. Troops Short On Crucial Supplies


http://kutv.com/topstories/topstories_story_030170745.h ...

Hundreds of U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have experienced shortages of key protective equipment including armored vehicles, roadside-bomb countermeasures and communications gear, a Pentagon survey released Tuesday shows.

The Defense Department Inspector General's Office polled roughly 1,100 service members and found they weren't always adequately equipped for their missions. The troops were interviewed in Iraq and Afghanistan last May and June.

Those surveyed reported shortcoming with vehicles outfitted with armor; "crew-served weapons," which are weapons it takes more than one person to handle, such as artillery or a large machine gun; electronic countermeasure devices, such as equipment designed to foil roadside bombs by interfering with cell-phone signals that may be used to detonate them; and communications equipment.

The survey found that those not getting needed gear include troops performing untraditional missions such as training, reconstruction, detainee operations and explosive ordnance disposal.

In some cases, they went ahead with the work anyway, used informal means to get what they needed or canceled or put off operations while waiting for equipment, the report summary said.

[az chela]

1. casey follows the orders of cheney and bush and rumsfeld

they are all puppets for bushco and this evil government.Someone has to get the balls to have all these people tried for war crimes and put in prison for the rest of their lives

[EFerrari]

2. Casey is a whore and it should make us all mad.

:mad:

[babylonsister]

3. Screw "us", how about the people who might vote for him in the Congress?

IT MAKES ME REALLY ANGRY!!

Hi, B!

[EFerrari]

6. Negroponte got confirmed again, didn't he?

Maybe I'm just not seeing the bigger picture but isn't this the guy that imported torture to Iraq?

Arrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhhh.

[babylonsister]

7. No, he got transferred, no confirmation necessary. They should have tried

that with Casey. The guy is inept and looked scared. Sec of the Army? WHY? When McCain says he's not voting for him, I have my doubts.

[EFerrari]

10. But there was a hearing on CSPAN this week with Death Squads

and it was about his assignment to the State Department. Maybe it was just a nice little welcome for him.

I've lived too long if this monster is now in State. :(

[TomInTib]

4. Casey is a fucking liar. But he would only lie up to a point....

so they replaced him.

With Petreaus, an even looser whore.

[EFerrari]

8. Tom, isn't this the guy that was in charge of Gitmo, and then was

sent to "shape up" Abu Ghraib?

I'm losing track of my felons here.

/b - oops

[NYC]

9. Geoffrey Miller?

I think you are talking about Geoffrey Miller.

[EFerrari]

11. I think you're right.

[TomInTib]

15. They are all the same....

Plug one out....

Plug one in....

They are all the same.

[babylonsister]

14. This is Casey, per wiki:

he's not only opposed to a surge, but he knows nothing about lack of armor and supplies for troops? And this is supposed to be the next big wig in the Army???

Iraq Command Tour

General Casey has served as the top U.S. commander in Iraq for three-and-a-half years, since July 2004. His goal was to encourage the Iraqis to take ownership of their problems and responsibility for their own security. For his part as a military commander, he focused on training Iraqi forces, limiting the role of American forces, and transferring the burden for providing security to Iraqi forces. Meanwhile U.S. diplomats, would focus on building and strengthening the Iraqi government and help the Iraqis hold elections. He expressed his view that a large and intrusive American presence in Iraq would not solve the political and security problems in that country and could even fuel the insurgency.

In January 2007, General Casey implied his opposition to a troop surge. "The longer we in the U.S. forces continue to bear the main burden of Iraq’s security, it lengthens the time that the government of Iraq has to take the hard decisions about reconciliation and dealing with the militias. And the other thing is that they can continue to blame us for all of Iraq’s problems, which are at base their problems. It’s always been my view that a heavy and sustained American military presence was not going to solve the problems in Iraq over the long term."<2>.

In 2005, General Casey was hopeful that the December 2005 Iraqi elections could lead to a more unified and moderate Iraq which -- in conjunction with the training of Iraqi security forces -- could pave the way for U.S. troop reductions in early 2006. In August 2005, Casey used specific troop numbers in his public discussion of a possible drawdown. He said the then current troop level of 138,000 could be reduced by 30,000 in the early months of 2006 as Iraqi security forces took on a greater role. President Bush publicly called the talk "speculation" and rebuked the general. The bombing of the al-Askari Mosque, a sacred Shia religious site in Samarra, is believed to have stoked sectarian tensions and derailed coalition plans to speedily transfer significant security responsibility to the Iraqi government by the end of 2006.

[EFerrari]

18. This "irresponsible Iraqi" meme makes me so MAD.

When all else fails, blame the victim. They did the same thing to the Vietnamese.

[butterfly77]

19. So is General Pace and a whole list of them...

that said anything Rumsfeld told them to say..

[Liberal In Texas]

5. Casey is a good German. He toes the company line.

If he didn't, he'd be either fired or retired.

[Solly Mack]

12. How could he not know?

It's been going on since March 2003. It's been in the papers. Soldiers complain about it all the time. Their families have complained about it.

He knew. He's lying.

Casey might not have read the Pentagon report..and is attempting a Rumsfeldesque version of the truth...I didn't see this particular report, so I didn't know ...(even if I've seen other reports and other complaints - you didn't ask about those).

[ninkasi]

13. Apparently he isn't aware

of the parents and other loved ones coughing up the money to send body armor, and other things to the troops, because the government didn't provide it. Instead, we spend ridiculous amounts of money on Halliburton's crappy services, rotten food and contaminated water, and to hell with making sure the troops are adequately provisioned.

Unless a crony can turn an obscene profit, the troops are just bodies to this administration. Remember, every cent spent helping our troops is a cent not spent swelling the bank accounts of the well connected businesses. We've all been aware of our soldiers and Marines scavenging pieces of scrap metal to reinforce their vehicles. In the meantime, Halliburton charges for meals not delivered.

If Casey is unaware of all of this, he's too stupid for the job. I'm a retiree in my 60s, and I know these things by reading various news accounts, so this knowledge isn't something that should escape the attention of the ones in charge of troops, and the war. It should be very much their business, and they should be fighting for the men and women under their command.

[Solly Mack]

16. He's lying, of course

He's playng the I'll only answer exactly what was asked - even if the truth, the full truth, is something else.

[sam sarrha]

17. Look... they just DONT CARE, they dont support the troops..!!! just do'n what they'r told

[spanone]

20. Military has been totally politicized. Casey is a stooge.

I trust NONE of them.