According to the conservative leaning newspaper The Washington Times, http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060208-121726-4780r.htm Senator John Warner (R.VA), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said federal agencies are not doing enough to help the U.S. military win in Iraq.

In response, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld suggested an overhaul of civilian departments to better fight Islamic terrorists.

Rowan Scarborough the Times reporter quoted Senator Warner as saying, “What we're not getting [are] the other elements of our government to bring to bear to conclude this conflict and perform the mission and bring our forces back." This was during a Senate hearing on the Pentagon's proposed $490 billion budget yesterday.

The Times reported that Warner asked Donald Rumsfeld if he agreed or disagreed with the Senators view that the government was not pulling together as is the men and women of the armed forces. The Washington Times also noted Senator Warner was airing that only debated in the Bush administration behind closed doors.

Folks what it really boils down to is political hypocrisy to its fullest and even the conservative Washington Times and Republican John Warner are starting to shine the light of knowledge on the HYPOCRISY.

The President as not only Commander-In-Chief, but also Head of the Executive Branch of our government and leader of our nation has not asked nor demanded “shared national sacrifice” from anyone in either our civilian government or the nation that cannot be controlled or ordered to serve in the War in Iraq and by extension the War on Terror.

President Bush has failed not only our Armed Forces as Commander-In-Chief by failing to commit the resources both money and work force of the entire nation to the War on Terror and thus by extension the War in Iraq. He has failed the nation and military members by not demanding shared sacrifice of the American people but instead exploiting and taking advantage of the patriotism, duty, and honor of the few. It is obvious from this story in a conservative source that this administration has asked too much of our Armed Forces without ever providing them the support required to finish the mission nor has the American people.

Follow the LINK above to see the Pentagon’s pitiful complaints and excuses are as more troops die and become Disabled Veterans, as the Father of a Soldier in Iraq on his second tour I am OUTRAGED at this story. It is one thing coming from a left-wing, pinko-commie, liberal source, but when a newspaper in the Neo-Cons corner starts airing their dirty laundry you know THEY are in trouble.

Justice, State, and Treasury are not sending over their best people to Iraq to help build sufficient democratic institutions such as courts, banks, and police whines the Pentagon. Because of federal civil service rules not all needed civilian workers can be forced (like military) to go to a hostile place like Iraq, and they often serve short six-month tours when civil servants do volunteer.

What is up with this? The Neo-Cons figured out they can't blame the anti-Iraqinam War movement for "their" failures in Iraq, because their is NO DRAFT thus no serious anti-war movement, so now they are going to blaime eachother. This is great. Just what us military families need. Those who got us into this mess playing the blame game with those who got us into this mess what poetic justice. 

Well no anti-Iraqinam War movement as THEY visualized one.

American administrators were unable to coax federal contracting experts to Iraq resulting in significant fraud and mismanagement of Iraqi development funds. Say what? This sounds like something Karl Rove wrote as a plea of innocent for taking bribes.

Secretary Rumsfeld excused the problem as a cultural one. According to the Times, Rumsfeld said, "The Department of Defense has a culture of deployments. They're used to it. They sign up for it. The other departments do not have a culture of being deployed."

Gen. Peter Pace, Chairman Joint Chiefs added that the military system simply is not yet  designed to encourage or reward tours of duty between various departments of our civilian government or to reward joint interagency education or to facilitate and reward those who would want to volunteer or be assigned on deployments."

Hell no the Pentagon is not designed to managed things it cannot CONTROL, because that would be a diplomatic funtion of the State Deparment that should have been handling the stabilization of Iraq or any other nation we had to invade, even if Iraq were not a mistake - DAH!

Sen. Carl Levin, (D.MI) noted what has become a consistent frustration among politicians of both parties. They complain that it is taking too long for a new Iraqi government to form nearly two months after the Dec. 15 elections. No power-sharing agreement (yet) reached between majority Shi'ites and minority Sunni Muslims on amending the new constitution. 

"The question is, will the administration tell the leaders in Iraq of all the factions that it is essential that they make the compromises necessary in order to achieve that broad-based, sustainable political settlement? Will you say that to them?" said Mr. Levin, ranking member of the Armed Forces Committee told Mr. Rumsfeld. 

Mr. Levin asserted, "I think the only hope we have of defeating that insurgency is if they will put their house in order politically."

BIPARTISAN Senators also pressed Mr. Rumsfeld and his generals on the state of the active Army, National Guard, and Reserves. State adjutants general are balking at planned reserve-force reorganization and at reports that the Army will not try to recruit enough soldiers to maintain the Guard's troop strength set by Congress at 350,000. The Guard is now 17,000 below that target as frequent war deployments have taken a toll on recruiting. 

Despite Army claims to have met the Regular Army recruitment quota for January 2006, it remains the National Guard and Reserves that the Bush administration still largely relies on for the continued occupation of Iraq. Should their be the need for military action against Iran or Syria the United States Air Force and Navy which have already seen cuts in manning since the beginning of the Iraq War will not be able to sustain a long-term war alone. This administration would again not only rely on our National Guard and Reserves to do the brunt of fighting and dying in Iran and elsewhere. The Neo-Cons will exploit them, use them, and abuse them even after cutting their numbers to pay for the on-going War in Iraq.

Bobby “Indy Thinker” Hanafin knows the end of this story as it played out in 1975 with the Fall of Saigon. Help ensure the memorial we need to dedicate to those youngsters who served their country in yet another mistake made by politicians with NO CLUE is as small a memorial with the least names possible WE can allow on it or WE are just as guilty for allowing its larger size as those who sent them to die.