Petition: "Demand body armor for our troops in Iraq" by Wes Clark

Dread Pirate KR Read

(234 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore

Wed Jan-11-06 06:46 PM
Original message

Petition: "Demand body armor for our troops in Iraq" by Wes Clark

Don't let President Bush and the neocons shift the blame for their failures in Iraq and in protecting our troops!

Please sign Wesley Clark's petition below and hold Bush accountable!

--------------------------------------------------------------

Demand body armor for our troops in Iraq
Posted by Wes Clark on January 11, 2006 - 5:17pm.

The Bush Administration has not provided our troops with the body armor they need to protect themselves. It's been three years, and now hundreds of thousands of brave American service men and women have risked their lives in Iraq -- with many paying the ultimate price.

This is unconscionable. This is incompetent. This is neglecting our soldiers' needs in war. It is time for Congress to act.

Co-sign my letter to Senate Armed Services Chairman John Warner (R-VA) and Ranking Member Carl Levin (D-MI), urging a full investigation into the welfare and safety of our troops in Iraq!

An internal government report recently obtained by the New York Times and published in an article this past weekend confirms that "80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to the upper body could have survived if they had had extra body armor."

The Times report continued, noting that "such armor has been available since 2003," but the Pentagon declined to supply it to the troops despite "calls from the field for additional protection."

More than 1700 American troops have died during combat. And according to the Times analysis, as many as 300 deaths could have been prevented if our soldiers were equipped with the right kind of body armor -- armor that costs as little as $260 per set.

We must demand that this Administration pay the costs to ensure our troops get what they need to be effective and secure in their conduct of the mission. This is not about dollars and cents, but about our values as a nation.

Call on Congress to investigate the Bush Administration's appalling disregard for the welfare and safety of American troops on the ground in Iraq -- co-sign my letter to Senators Warner and Levin now!

President Bush continues to attack critics of the war effort as "unpatriotic" -- but I refuse to stay silent. The war in Iraq was a strategic blunder from the very beginning. And the Administration's handling of the war has only gone downhill from there.

This study is just the latest example of the Bush Administration's appalling disregard for the welfare and safety of our troops. President Bush's rhetoric doesn't match the actions of his Administration, and unnecessary combat fatalities are the result.

Clearly, Congressional investigation is warranted. When were the needs for additional protection first expressed? Who knew what and when, and why weren't necessary steps taken?

The American people deserve no less than full accountability and assurances that going forward our troops will not face unnecessary risks or danger caused by lack of resources, oversight, or commitment from Washington.

Join me in calling on Congress to investigate this critical matter. Our brave men and women in uniform deserve so much better from this Administration, and that's why we must speak out.

Sincerely,

Wes

P.S. I'll be sending our letter to Senators Warner and Levin next Wednesday -- please join me by co-signing our letter today!

:dem:WesPAC | Securing America:patriot:

--------------------------------------------------------------

Printer Friendly | Permalink | | Top

Kurovski