Sen. Clinton Says Lack of Body Armor is 'Unforgivable'

[sabra]

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/story?id=1489733

Sen. Clinton Says Lack of Body Armor is 'Unforgivable'
She Has Called for an Investigation Into Why Soldiers Are Not Fully Protected

Jan. 10, 2006 — Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton called the Bush administration "incompetent" when it came to protecting the troops in combat and called the lack of adequate body armor for soldiers and Marines "unforgivable."

So far in Iraq, more than 2,100 American troops have been killed. Critics like Clinton, D-N.Y., say that many of these deaths are the result of inadequate body armor. A secret Pentagon study of 93 Marines who were killed in Iraq found that 74 died after they were hit by a bullet or shrapnel in the torso or shoulders — areas unprotected by the armor most are issued.

"We perhaps could have avoided so many of these fatalities with the right body armor," said Clinton, who recently wrote letters to Sen. John Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services Committee; Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the ranking Democrat on the Armed Services Committee; and Francis J. Harvey, secretary of the Army, calling for an investigation into why troops were not being protected.

Clinton pointed to President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney as the culprits. Some have said that supplying Marines and soldiers with armor that covers their sides is too expensive — costing about $260 for each person. Clinton said that considering the United States' defense budget was half a trillion dollars, the additional protection was affordable. She said the administration had refused to listen to people in the field like Paul Bremer, former ambassador to Iraq, who said the United States needed more troops in Iraq to pacify the country.

[young_at_heart]

1. Where is the outrage?

The money to Halliburton could have been used on body armor.

[gratuitous]

5. Money for the defense budget is hardly the problem

The Pentagon can't spend what's lavished on it now, and can't account for its budget in any real world sense as it is. It's the contracting of services to companies that can't supply its needs that seems to be the root of the problem here. And how does a small start-up in South Carolina land the contract to supply body armor to the military in the first place? Or some outfit in Ohio is given the job of armoring Humvees while GM and Ford are laying off workers by the thousand?

Maybe some of this should be investigated. You'd think that with all those "support our troops" bumper stickers and magnets and sentiment just flowing all over Washington DC somebody would care to make sure that all those billions spent every week by our defense department is actually going to, you know, support our troops.

But that's a loony-bin, radical, too-far-outside-the-mainstream idea that shouldn't get an airing in the public arena. Far better for the republic to debate the merits of Intelligent Design.

[EST]

2. Nice timing, senator!

[jamesinca]

3. Hey Hillary, being over there is wrong too.

If the Pentagon can't afford an additional $265 per person, maybe they can't afford this war. Until you change your opinion about the war you have no reason to complain about the military that we have, not the one we want. Her and Joe Liberman are disgusting.

[Why Syzygy]

10. I am so relieved to read

other people who know that she is a sham master.

What has she EVER done for her country? Her kid went to college at Cambridge, you know.
Tuition $$ left the USofA. You know. Cambridge is a fine school. No doubt. But home-grown?
No, don't think so.

They are not in Cambridge anymore, Hill...

Body armor. War. Do these two words have anything in common?

ps.. my son serves .. and I hate it.

[Orsino]

4. No, Hill, authorizing eternal war was unforgiveable.

It's too late to prevent a war with Iraq, but we could still send some more armor to our troops.

[leftchick]

6. Give it up Hil. What is unforgivable is your IWR vote

and continued support for the occupation. More troops my ass. :grr:

[William769]

7. You go girl!

[Why Syzygy]

8. Hello! Anybody out there ...

DUH! Hillary. It only took her two and a half years to figure this one?
And she is married to a Rhode's Scholar?

Yeah. Tell me another one.

[rooboy]

9. Way out ahead of the curve again, I see. n/t

[Nightwing]

11. Give it to them good, Hillary!!!

Blast these bastards as hard and as often as you can!! Investigate and impeach the SOB's!!

[Critters2]

17. Yeah right

Like that'll happen

[Why Syzygy]

12. and

while we're on the subject, why don't we see any more of those Jessica/Marine rescues?
Did the Marines retire? Does no one get captured anymore? Do convoys break down? Did that part stop? What about the ones who get blown to bits every day. Where are the Marines then? And it follows, where is Jesus? Isn't he supposed to be the big guy in the sky who is looking down and bringing blessings to America? Is that a case by case basis, or do we all get that included with our citizenship? And, how can we, or Jesus, justify sending perfectly fine young men and women into a guaranteed fucking inferno everyday? Of their oh too short lives.

War machine, they call it. I am so loathe of history buffs who claim that war is "necessary".
I call Bullshit.

[Jacobin]

13. Along with the 80,000 more targets she wants to send to IraqNam?

Hawk!

[NVMojo]

14. the repukes care more about unborn humans then the living

[Critters2]

19. Yep

Life ends at birth to the Repugs

[Clyde39]

15. How must the family members feel right now?

Knowing that your loved one might have survived must be achingly painful for these folks.

[High Plains]

16. What's "unforgiveable" is supporting this cursed war.

Way to triangulate, though, Hillary.

[jsamuel]

18. Absolutely! WE KNEW ABOUT THIS YEARS AGO!!! WTF WERE YOU?!

?

[Stockholm]

20. She is right n/t

[bluestateguy]

21. We need to hear more of this from Hillary

I've been hard on her for several months now because she is, at this time, the presumptive front runner for 2008. Most Democratic voters--the people who trudge through the snow of Iowa and New Hampshire to vote in January--oppose this war. She should reflect that point of view, at least to some extent.

These comments are a small, but welcome first step, but the next step for her should be to support Jack Murtha's plan and denounce the war itself, not just that we went to war in the wrong way.

[karynnj]

22. It is an important issue and if she can get it visablity that's great

It's not new - at minimum, it was a stock accusation repeated many times a day by Kerry as the Presidential candidate. Kerry has used it as part of his response when Bush & co say criticizing war policies hurts the troops in addition to not taking proper care of the soldiers when they return. Kennedy made a huge issue of it in 2005 after the soldier brought it up. Pelosi talked about it today.

The thing is Hillary got this huge article for saying it. It's good for more people to know. If Hillary uses the fact that the MSM supports her to try to get help for soldiers - this is good.