The Review

Issue date: 4/10/07 Section: Editorial

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This past week President George W. Bush visited Fort Irwin in California in hopes of cheering up troops about to be sent to Iraq.

As part of his public relations speech, Bush surrounded himself with troops while wearing his usual blue, button-down shirt, with rolled sleeves and khaki pants.

As newsfeeds of the visit poured into my televison, littered with Bush's blatant lies to troops, I could not help but feel angry. Bush tried to tell troops that the Democrat's plan to leave Iraq would open America and its military to more danger and would only help its enemies in the War on Terror. The troops sat, speechless in their seats - they knew the truth before them.

The president is making the war unsafe for American troops.

I have no doubt that he cares about the young men and women fighting for democracy, but he cares more about publicity more. His training strategies outline his level of care more than his words in front of a few nervous troops.

This week, while implementing his planned troop increase, the president sent two combat brigades to Iraq without desert training. This means they will be risking their lives in a region that is primarily desert without ever setting foot in a similar terrain.

The Associated Press reported that the 4th Stryker Brigade of the 2nd Infantry Division and the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division will be rushed one month early into combat. Ironically, the 4th Stryker Brigade was stationed at Fort Irwin.

This is not the first time the president has forced American soldiers into war unprepared.

The funding crisis, while not as personal as the troop increase problems, has taken its toll on troop preparedness as well. Money is leaking out of the budget like water through a funnel. The AP reported that $36.4 million for weapons, armored vehicles, body armor and communications equipment are unaccounted for by government officials.

The money problems with the war stem from early war contracts given out by Bush and his advisers when the war began four years ago. DynCorp International, an engineering firm based in Texas, was responsible for building a $43.8 million dollar camp in Iraq that is now uninhabited. Of course the camp includes everything an American solidier needs to fight terrorism - 20 VIP trailers and an Olympic-sized pool.

Continued...

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