After being embarrassed by tough questions from National Guard soldiers in Kuwait who were preparing for war duty in Iraq, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said the military is doing everything it can to speed up deployment of equipment to Iraq and to counter the roadside bombs that cause havoc on vehicles.
It was an excuse-laden response, to be sure.
But it gets worse.
According to a Dec. 9 Bloomberg wire service report, the Pentagon could increase production of armored military vehicles by 22 percent a month by just picking up the phone.
Armor Holdings Inc., a Florida company that is the only supplier of protective armor plates for military Humvees, told Bloomberg it could increase its output by as much as 22 percent a month right now. The company is just waiting for an order from the Army.
Attacks on vehicles with homemade bombs and rocket-propelled grenades, Bloomberg reported, account for as many as half of U.S. troops wounded and killed in action in Iraq.
Once again, Rumsfeld demonstrates he’s unfit to serve. Unfortunately, he’ll be around for President Bush’s second term. Maybe he can find time to call Florida and order more armor for the men and women fighting in Iraq. It seems the least he could do.
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