Of all of [tag]Bush[/tag]’s misstatements from the 2000 presidential election, one of the most obviously-false attacks was on military readiness. Indeed, then-Gov. Bush blamed Clinton and Gore directly for “hollowing out” the military. “If called on by the commander-in-chief today, two entire divisions of the Army would have to report, ‘[tag]Not ready for duty[/tag], sir.'” BC00 campaign aides later acknowledged it was a bogus charge, but that didn’t stop Bush from repeating it.
As long as Bush believes [tag]military[/tag] [tag]readiness[/tag] is a key political issue, it’s worth exploring what his presidency has done to the armed forces. Yesterday, Bush told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto, “We have a very strong military and we can deal with any threat to the homeland there is and will if we have to.”
There’s ample evidence to the contrary.
The temperamental [Defense Secretary Donald] [tag]Rumsfeld[/tag] erupted at [Army Chief of Staff Peter] [tag]Schoomaker[/tag] after the general revealed the Army’s lack of readiness in painful detail to the House Armed Services Committee. “I remain concerned about the serious demands we face,” Schoomaker said in asking Congress for $17 billion in an emergency appropriation. The ranking Democrat member of that committee, Rep. [tag]Ike Skelton[/tag], cited Schoomaker’s blunt honesty in a letter he wrote to [tag]President[/tag] Bush last week. “When I asked General Schoomaker in recent testimony if he was comfortable with the readiness level for the non-deployed units located within the continental United States, he simply answered no,” said Skelton.
Equipment like tanks and Humvees are badly worn down after three years in the sand and heat, and the Army is cannibalizing units still based in the United States. It is also asking soldiers to prepare for third overseas deployments in a row, which many fear could trigger an exodus of professionals.
The Army’s budgetary squeeze raises questions about whether the United States can “stay the course” in Iraq even if it wants to.
As TP noted, Skelton added that Army readiness is “in [tag]crisis[/tag].”
As a result of the crisis, the [tag]Army[/tag] is being forced to cut resources to nondeployed forces to make sure front-line troops stay at the highest combat readiness. Rep. John Murtha explained that these are “the units that could be called upon or would be called upon to go to war in North Korea, Iran, or any other country or region.” […]
Today, two-thirds of the Army’s brigade combat teams are a testament to Bush’s record of neglect.
Oddly enough, Bush’s 2000 attack against Clinton and Gore was completely wrong at the time — but under his “leadership,” turned out to be largely true after all.