U.S. soldier in Afghanistan: ‘We scrounge for everything.’
In last week’s Democratic debate, Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) said he was told by an Army captain that his platoon’s resources in Afghanistan were shortchanged because of the Iraq war. Seeking to turn Obama’s remarks into a political attack, Sen. John Warner (R-VA) immediately questioned the authenticity of the statement. But ABC News contacted the Army captain, who backed up Obama’s story. And now the New York Times reports that soldiers in Afghanistan are still strapped for resources:
And they felt eclipsed by Iraq. As Sgt. Erick Gallardo put it: “We don’t get supplies, assets. We scrounge for everything and live a lot more rugged. But we know the war is here. We got unfinished business.”
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support the surge!
what tripe.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:11 pmcue Frank M to tell that soldier to quit whining.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:18 pmBush’s irresponsibility outed again. Warner’s Bush’s Front man - always has been.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:30 pmLefty: You mean the one where we’re paying l.2Million dollars each week to pay them off to NOT fight? What a joke. Bush knows no morality. I’m beginning to think he’s not even human.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:32 pmOuch.
February 23rd, 2008 at 10:41 pmFebruary 23rd, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Gee, Bush&Co tell us that they support the troops who have everything they need — they didn’t lie to us did they? Gasp!
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:09 pmThe lying bast*rds — filling the pockets of their cronies who inflate contracts, rip off the taxpayer and shortchange the soldiers.
If they had a conscience, they would not be able to sleep at night, but they sleep like babies because not only have they no conscience, they have no soul.
My calendar says we have 332 days yet before we can start to turn this ship around and throw the bast*rds overboard.
If memory serves (and it usually does), this is hardly new. I seem to recall that Rumsfeld’s infamous quote concerning “the Army you have, not the Army you want” was in response to questions from troops stationed in Iraq asking why they were compelled to scrounge through landfills and garbage heaps for scrap metal to enhance the armor on their vehicles.
Ca plus change, ca plus la meme chose…
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:24 pmHope that the world without war
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:30 pmOur troops have to scrounge for the things they need in a war zone, but we’re supposed to go shopping in order to be “good Americans.”
That’s screwed up.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:30 pmBush’s only “victory” with Iraq will be when he wipes the blood on his hands on Obama’s coat on his way out the White House door.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:42 pmMaybe Senator Warner should keep his mouth shut until he retires, next year.
February 23rd, 2008 at 11:59 pmYeah, I am thinking, “Mr. Military”, John Warner has shown he needs to STFU.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:06 amGee, Gin, wonder if your buddies would block that type of legislation…again. Sorry, real trolls can’t all of a sudden turn into concern trolls
February 24th, 2008 at 12:19 am“If this story is true, Obama needs to introduce legislation Monday morning to guarantee that or troops are at authorized strength and properly equipped. No more empty rhetoric.”
Comment by Gin
And what of the republicans?
I guess you’ve already written them off.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:32 amBoy, this sounds just like the issue that could re-establish in voters minds the notion that republicans are the party that truly supports the troops.
Or not.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:37 amComment by Gin — February 24, 2008 @ 12:11 am
Obama needs to introduce legislation Monday morning to guarantee that or troops are at authorized strength and properly equipped.
This from a partisan that no doubt espouses “personal responsibility.” As mentioned above, did you give up on your side of the isle doing something to solve the problem? Don’t cast stones when you live in a glass house. Your post makes you sound like a hypocrite.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:59 amComment by Sabyen91 — February 24, 2008 @ 12:19 am
Sorry, real trolls can’t all of a sudden turn into concern trolls
Good catch, Sabyen
February 24th, 2008 at 1:01 amA republican soldier will now frag him for telling the truth, it’s the GOP way!
February 24th, 2008 at 1:17 amIt’s about time someone speaks up for the grunts. If this story is true, Obama needs to introduce legislation Monday morning to guarantee that or troops are at authorized strength and properly equipped. No more empty rhetoric.
Comment by Gin — February 24, 2008 @ 12:11 am
Do you say this only because you KNOW that NO REPUBLICAN WILL PROTECT THE TRUTH? While that’s TRUE, why do you give up SO EASILY ON your OWN PARTY? No FAITH in their PATRIOTISM? Well to be honest, you and your party have NEVER demonstrated ANY PATRIOTISM or AMERICAN QUALITIES! ;)
February 24th, 2008 at 1:19 amI wonder if this is going to become a “dark horse” issue in the general election. BushCo has made strong efforts to un-inform, dis-inform and muzzle the troops. They are fed the BushCo line and through the use of emotional appeal (like pride and fear) are faced with doing and saying the “right” thing or believing their lying eyes.
Certainly, the wounded vets returning to bad care has been an issue that has been suppressed. In fact, there are a lot of issues that the troops are sitting on, that have not been sufficiently covered by the media. Extended tours, wounded vets being discharged early to avoid paying their signing bonus, the high suicide rate and more.
If this picture was presented as a whole instead of it being broken up into its parts as it has been, the effect could be very explosive. It would expose the ideology and philosophy of BushCo and McBush who carries their banner. It is easy to explain away each individual piece, but much harder to cover up the big picture.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:22 amMerlin, actual issues never seem to be important in a presidential race. We can expect to see more God, Guns and Gays from the right and a cowardly retreat from those issues from the left.
February 24th, 2008 at 1:52 amComment by Sabyen91 — February 24, 2008 @ 1:52 am
Merlin, actual issues never seem to be important in a presidential race.
This is exactly the point I made in my post.
We can expect to see more God, Guns and Gays from the right…
Yes I suppose so. They have nothing else to run on, really. However, I don’t believe that these issues will have traction in this cycle. In any case I was addressing the possibility of the left making an issue of it, not the right. If McBush maintains his currently stated views on the invasion and occupations, all these negative troop issues are there waiting to be put into a cohesive package. He will have to answer to them.
and a cowardly retreat from those issues from the left.
I feel you may be confusing Congressional races with the POTUS race (in my post) here. If Obama is the candidate, he would be completely free to exploit any issues he chooses. I don’t think he will act as you suggest, cowering in fear and running away from confrontation. I rather expect he will go on the offensive, and set both the tone and the agenda that McBush will have to respond to. This is an issue that is waiting to be exploited in my view. That there is such a difference in their views concerning Iraq means this will be an issue that is going to be pushed on the left. (And the public is with the left here.)
February 24th, 2008 at 2:12 amSgt. Erick Gallardo–report immediately to your superior officers.
Leave your gun.
February 24th, 2008 at 3:10 amWhatever happened to those four guys who signed the op-ed in the New York Times last fall?
Oh, right–ambushed and killed most of them about a month later.
No prob. The military investigated, and found no evidence of wrongdoing by the military. None whatsoever.
February 24th, 2008 at 3:12 amOh dear. Hope everybody can come home soon safely.
February 24th, 2008 at 4:10 amWhy are there no national reporters checking into war profiteering on the part of KBR/Halliburton, et al? Are we so rich that we can afford to line the pockets of these parasites?
February 24th, 2008 at 7:36 am#2: No, I’m not blaming the soldiers. I’m blaming the democrats who’ve been holding back appropriation bills.
Comment by Frank M — February 24, 2008 @ 7:27 am
But y8ou won’t blame the traitors that have sent the appropriations into the bowels of Halliburton, instead of arming the troops? wow, frank, you have zero patriotism in you. I hope you get hit by a bus today. The world would be better off without you.
February 24th, 2008 at 8:08 am“#2: No, I’m not blaming the soldiers. I’m blaming the democrats who’ve been holding back appropriation bills.
Comment by Frank M — February 24, 2008 @ 7:27 am”
My god, Frank, you are full of ****. Your beloved leader and his lockstep Congressional minions were in complete control for the first four years of this war, and all a bedwetting coward like you can do is blame Democrats. Where is your limit for self-debasement, Frank? Where does it all end? When do you and your self-delusions finally hit the wall?
February 24th, 2008 at 8:44 amA vote for McStain is a vote for continued mass-murder in the cause of losing bush’s wars.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:02 am#2: No, I’m not blaming the soldiers. I’m blaming the democrats who’ve been holding back appropriation bills.
Comment by Frank M — February 24, 2008 @ 7:27 am
Yeah, Frankie, its not like you care enough to actually read up, research and find out what is really happening and who is really to blame.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:11 amWay to support the troops, you (self proclaimed) fascist idiot.
Why are there no national reporters checking into war profiteering on the part of KBR/Halliburton, et al?
Comment by Bartolo — February 24, 2008 @ 7:36 am
From Today’s Chicago Tribune:
Federal prosecutors in Rock Island have indicted four former supervisors from KBR, the giant defense firm that holds the contract, along with a decorated Army officer and five executives from KBR subcontractors based in the U.S. or the Middle East. Those defendants, along with two other KBR employees who have pleaded guilty in Virginia, account for a third of the 36 people indicted to date on Iraq war-contract crimes, Justice Department records show.
On Wednesday, a federal judge in Rock Island sentenced the Army official, Chief Warrant Officer Peleti “Pete” Peleti Jr., to 28 months in prison for taking bribes.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/ news/ nationworld/ chi-kbr-war-profiteers-feb21,1,5231766.story?page=1
February 24th, 2008 at 9:11 amMy calendar says we have 332 days yet before we can start to turn this ship around and throw the bast*rds overboard.
Comment by Marie — February 23, 2008 @ 11:09 pm
NOPE, I say throw them over NOW!!! TODAY preferably.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:16 amAnd make sure the trolls here are the first on the gang plank.
Logistics ineptitude has been the hallmark of the Rumsfeld era and you don’t win if you you fail the logistics challenges.
February 24th, 2008 at 9:52 amSo, when does Rush Limbaugh (sp?) call him a “Phony Soldier”???
February 24th, 2008 at 10:18 amSenator Biden on the This Week Sunday program, said something to the effect that what we have spent in Afghanistan equals about three weeks of what we are spending in Iraq. It’s pretty obvious that most of the money and assets are going to Iraq while essentially ignoring Afghanistan.
Remember why we are in Afghanistan? September 11, 2001. Our priorities are screwed up.
February 24th, 2008 at 11:36 amU.S. soldier in Afghanistan: ‘We scrounge for everything.’
Oh really….just where did that half a trillion dollars for Iraq and Afghanistan go?
“Support the troops”? It looks like what America has been doing is “supporting the contractors and war profiteers”.
In hindsight, it seems to me that if people would have pressured Congress into doing some oversight into where the money was actually going, THAT would have been supporting the troops much more than putting a magnetic ribbon made in China on a vehicle.
However, putting a magnet on our car is much easier than actually taking the time out of our busy lives to follow what’s going on and call our Congressman…….
and we were also constantly told that if we questioned anything we were traitors and helping “the enemy”.
We are almost all guilty for what has happened to this country (and Iraq) and the looting of the Treasury.
We have almost all been played for suckers (myself included)
BTW, How is that investigation of the 2001 Anthrax attacks being conducting by the people “who want to make us safe from terrorism” going?
February 24th, 2008 at 11:56 amFor those of us who’s had a loved one in Iraq, this is hardly news.
My niece served two tours, and continually had to deal with Army bureaucracy that flat out refused to get her the supplies and equipment she needed to do the job she was trained to do.
You heard right. Not “We don’t have it.” “Refused.”
February 24th, 2008 at 12:05 pmWhy are there no national reporters checking into war profiteering on the part of KBR/Halliburton, et al? Are we so rich that we can afford to line the pockets of these parasites? — Bartolo
***********************************************
I suspect that it has a lot to do with the fact that a great many of our major media outlets are actually owned by a handful of larger parent companies, reportedly only around five or so — and media outlets also depend on advertising for their profits. The problem with this is that if a media outlet’s parent company or one of its larger advertising partners decides that they don’t want a certain story to be reported because it would reflect badly on them directly or on someone or something which they support (such as the Bush administration or the Republican Party), there’s a good chance that the story won’t get reported — or at least, not by that outlet. Add to this the fact that the Bush administration and/or its supporters are prone to labeling (or should that be libeling?) any critics as being unpatriotic, anti-American, or outright traitorous — and you begin to get a very clear picture as to why stories like this aren’t being widely reported. The fact is that the majority of the reporters in the mainstream media have been grossly negligent in their responsibility to the American people over the last few years. One of the whole purposes of having freedom of the press (and one of the reasons why our Founding Fathers wanted and insisted upon having a free press) is because a free press has the power and the potential to serve as a governmental watchdog by exposing corruption. If and when the press only chooses to report what is “safe” — regardless of whether “safe” is defined directly by the government or by people who support that government (such as major corporations), then the press is not truly doing their job and not living up to the responsibilities that inevitably come with freedom.
February 24th, 2008 at 12:19 pmWow - that’s the price of freedom…
If you’re a drudge fan: drudgetracker.com
February 24th, 2008 at 12:45 pmI remember Nam, No blanket, just plastic like poncho. I remember being so cold in the rain, because I had no poncho liner blanket. Why??? Because the Army didn’t supply it or the quartermaster sold it, sent it home (which was the story told by fellow soldiers) or the government didn’t have enough. Either way I froze my ass off and felt the people of the this country didn’t know, didn’t care because they were enjoying their lives back in the “World”. As this administration censors so much and the news media is afraid to say the truth Soldiers will die. I believe there are no protests because there is no draft and afraid what this administration & the media might do to them. !!! The only ones that really cared were those with family members there. Just Like NOW!!!
February 24th, 2008 at 3:01 pm“#2: No, I’m not blaming the soldiers. I’m blaming the democrats who’ve been holding back appropriation bills.
Comment by Frank M — February 24, 2008 @ 7:27 amâ€
Unfortunately FOR YOU this hasn’t HAPPENED! But lots of REPUBLICANS have BLOCKED MORE SPENDING like good like CHEAP MORONS - JAKE! How you doing with your battle in senility? Sorry to say looks like you’re losing there, old man :(
February 24th, 2008 at 3:06 pmI just hope this guy doesn’t get snipered or “blown up by a road side bomb” like the other soldiers who complained and told the truth about the war over there.
February 24th, 2008 at 7:01 pmLimbaugh ridiculed Obama’s story on Friday, demanding that the media scrutinize it and verify it.
Yeah, right, Rush, we all know how well equipped our troops are. Remember Donald Dumsfailed’s quip about fighting with the army we have instead of the army we want???
http://newsprism.wordpress.com
February 24th, 2008 at 9:34 pm