Guess what,
I talked to several guys I know that already been in Iraq thru the National
Guard. They say exactly the same thing.
Even more, After months, they still wait for the pay.
But the bill-collectors are not that patriotic.
They want to see money.


On Thu, 9 Dec 2004 13:34:29 -0800, Shawn Gordon <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

>You know what Michael?  We all see and read the news, you need to get over
>the fact that you lost the election and move on.  You obviously missed the
>addition to this story that a journalist had fed the questions to the
troops.
>
>At 12:54 PM 12/9/2004, Michael Baier wrote:
>>After 21 month into the war and over 100billion spend, Rumsfeld finally
>>talkes to the soldiers (not generals) and guess what "I don't know what
the
>>facts are"
>>Embarrassing to say the least.
>>But his boss gives him 4 more years to make a better military.
>>Who does these guys talk to? nobody that has the facts.
>>4 more years.
>>Where's the sticker "I didn't vote for him"?
>>
>>http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?
>>tmpl=story&cid=564&e=1&u=/nm/20041209/ts_nm/iraq_usa_rumsfeld_dc_11
>>
>>Bush, Rumsfeld Try to Soothe Angry U.S. Troops
>>
>>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush said on Thursday U.S. troop concerns
>>about inadequate equipment for Iraq combat are being addressed and he did
>>not blame soldiers for raising the issue with Defense Secretary Donald
>>Rumsfeld.
>>
>>A day after he was bombarded with criticism from U.S. soldiers based in
>>Kuwait, Rumsfeld promised more would be done to protect forces. He also
>>said steps were being taken to deal with explosive devices, a leading
cause
>>of death in Iraq, where more than 1,000 American soldiers have been killed
>>in action.
>>
>>Since invading Iraq last year, administration critics have accused it of
>>failing to send adequate forces and armor to stabilize the country,
>>allowing the current bloody insurgency to develop.
>>
>>The latest complaints put the administration further on the defensive.
Bush
>>had rejected charges from Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry in the
>>campaign for last month's election that military forces in Iraq did not
>>have sufficient protection.
>>
>>"The concerns expressed are being addressed, and that is, we expect our
>>troops to have the best possible equipment. And if I were a soldier
>>overseas, wanting to defend my country, I'd want to ask the secretary of
>>defense the same question," Bush said.
>>
>>He told reporters in an Oval Office event that he has been telling
military
>>families that "we're doing everything we possibly can to protect your
loved
>>ones in a mission which is vital and important."
>>
>>California Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Leader in the House of
>>Representatives, said Rumsfeld should be fired.
>>
>>She said the Iraq war "began 21 months ago and Secretary Rumsfeld has
still
>>not done what is necessary, which is his highest duty, to protect our
>>troops to the greatest degree possible. No CEO in America would retain a
>>manager with so clear a record of failure and neither should President
>>Bush."
>>
>>Meeting with troops in Kuwait on Wednesday, Rumsfeld heard several
>>complaints, including one from Spc. Thomas Wilson that U.S. forces were
>>forced to dig up scrap metal to protect their vehicles in Iraq because of
a
>>shortage of armored ones.
>>
>>"CONSTRUCTIVE EXCHANGE"
>>
>>"I don't know what the facts are but somebody's certainly going to sit
down
>>with him and find out what he knows that they may not know, and make sure
>>he knows what they know that he may not know, and that's a good thing. I
>>think it's a very constructive exchange," Rumsfeld told reporters
traveling
>>with him on Thursday in India, another stop on a regional tour.
>>
>>As the military adjusts to changing tactics of the insurgency, it requires
>>different types of equipment and approaches, Rumsfeld said. "It doesn't
>>happen instantaneously, but it has been happening pretty rapidly," he
said.
>>
>>The criticism came just days after the White House announced Rumsfeld
would
>>stay on in Bush's second-term Cabinet and the White House closed ranks
>>behind him.
>>
>>"In terms of Secretary Rumsfeld, I think it's important for those at the
>>top of the chain of command to hear from those who wear the uniform,
>>especially those on the front lines in harm's way," said White House
>>spokesman Scott McClellan.
>>
>>But late night television comedians seized on the issue, and comic Jay
Leno
>>poked fun at Rumsfeld for saying that armor did not always provide
>>protection. "Then he got in his armored car and left," said Leno to laughs
>>from his audience.
>>
>>In an apparent effort to damp down the political fallout the U.S. general
>>in charge of coalition ground forces in Iraq vowed on Thursday to make
sure
>>that all American military vehicles - including trucks - driven into Iraq
>>in the future would contain at least minimal armor plating.
>>
>>"And so we're continuing to work feverishly to ensure that they make our
>>requirement that nobody goes north without it," Army Lt. Gen. Steven
>>Whitcomb told Pentagon reporters in a hastily arranged teleconference from
>>Kuwait, where U.S. troops have been gathering before entering Iraq.
>>
>>Whitcomb told reporters progress had been made since August of last year
to
>>upgrade armor on "Humvee" jeeps, although the military was still about
>>2,000 short of 8,100 "up-armored" heavily-protected Humvees requested by
>>commanders in Iraq.
>>
>>The House Armed Services Committee, meanwhile, released a list indicating
>>that only about 1,100 medium and heavy U.S. military trucks out of some
>>9,000 in the Iraq and Afghanistan regions had received needed protection
>>for their cabs.
>>
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>
>
>Regards,
>
>Shawn Gordon
>President
>theKompany.com
>www.thekompany.com
>www.mindawn.com
>949-713-3276
>
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