meehawl

all that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned

Running On Empty

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Heading into the 2000 election, then-candidate George W. Bush blasted the Clinton administration’s 1990s deployments to places like Bosnia and Kosovo, saying they depleted our military’s readiness. “Our military is low on parts, pay and morale. If called on by the commander in chief today, two entire divisions of the Army would have to report, ‘Not ready for duty, sir,’ ” said then-Gov. Bush.

Intense combat in Iraq is chewing up military hardware and consuming money at an unexpectedly rapid rate — depleting military coffers, straining defense contractors and putting pressure on Bush administration officials to seek a major boost in war funding long before they had hoped … Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), vice chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, charged that the president is playing political games by postponing further funding requests until after the election, to try to avoid reopening debate on the war’s cost and future. Weldon described the administration’s current defense budget request as “outrageous” and “immoral” and said that at least $10 billion is needed for Iraqi operations over the next five months.

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