The Command T.O.C.

More Marines Killed in Iraq Due To Bush's Policies

Link: US military: 4 Marines killed in Anbar province in Iraq - Yahoo! News.

George Bush can now add 4 more casualties to his tally of Americans killed due to his stubbornness and stupidity. Interesting that it is in the Anbar Province where we supposedly "tamed" the insurgents during our great "Surge".

Perhaps not?

White House admits fault on 'Mission Accomplished' banner

Link: White House admits fault on 'Mission Accomplished' banner.

5 years after President Bozo declared that "Major combat operations in Iraq were over", we are still at war and 50 soldiers have been killed just this month.

I am sure the 4,000 plus soldiers who have died since this declaration was made are thrilled they were not killed in "Major Combat Operations".

US troop deaths hit 7-month high in Iraq - Yahoo! News

Link: US troop deaths hit 7-month high in Iraq - Yahoo! News.

Well, I guess it is back to the drawing board again. More soldiers die at the hands of George Bush's debacle. You have to wonder why we allow this to continue. Soldiers are just driving around Baghdad getting shot at. How silly is this?

The Army is Far More Broken Than Even I Imagined

I have been writing for a long time about the bad effects of the Iraq war on our Military (mostly Army) and therefore our national security. While sounding counterintuitive,  I believe the strain we have put the Army under has made us far LESS SECURE than we were before we invaded Iraq. Our Army is at it's breaking point and no one can deny that anymore.

I am on many bulletin board sites interacting with soldiers to collect first hand what it is like to be in the Army today. I was recently shocked by the description of the career of an officer, who screwed up it is, and why they are all getting out. Here, I re-post this entirely and hope you read it. It should tell show you that even if this officer is 1/2 right, the Army is a disaster and not just stretched but actually broken. Here goes:

"For the benefit of those who haven't been in active service for a while, here is a look at lifecycle management's effect on officers.

Most BCTs fall under what is called lifecycle management. This was created to provide stability and predictability and intended to be a 3-year cycle from stand-up thru deployment, however in practice its more like 2 to 2.5-years (much to the chagrin of HRC). Lifecycles are stop loss/stop move environments. Once you're in, it is difficult to get out (possible, but not likely. Its ultimately up to the BDE CDR). Lifecycles culminate upon redeployment. To help you understand the lifecycle, I'll use an example of a new BCT."

Defense secretary scolds Air Force for war effort - CNN.com

Link: Defense secretary scolds Air Force for war effort - CNN.com.

Amazing to me that the SecDEF cannot get the Airforce to do what he wants. Can't he just tell them to do it (whatever it is that he wants them to do)? He must really think the Air Force is bad if he feels a need to "go public" with his discontent.

Army Captains Leaving in Droves; Military Needs to Bribe Them

All I ever hear from the military clan is that those who serve do so out of "love for Country" and patriotism. Well, apparently that is not enough to keep them in the Army during a time of war. Like normal people working at normal companies, it seems it all comes down to cash.

The Army, facing a huge drain on Army Captains (the future leaders of the Army) has decided to try to bribe them to stay. They are offering bonuses of up to $35K. Kind of like a signing bonus for people who already are in the Army. Even with that the Army does not think it will be enough to retain these "patriots". The Army says:

"The cap on the dollars is purely pragmatic, according to Dan Goure, an Army expert and vice president of the Lexington Institute, a defense think tank in Virginia: “There’s a limit on what the Army can spend.”

With the current wars and their related costs, there just isn’t enough money for higher bonuses, Goure told Stripes in a Thursday telephone interview.

“What we have is five pounds of need and a three-pound sack of money,” he said."

I just find it funny that the Military has us all convinced that somehow they serve a higher calling and are somehow "better" than the rest of us. Well, it appears they are JUST LIKE the rest of us. Give them enough money and they will do anything. Hold back the money and they quit.

What Would You Do With $3 Trillion Dollars?

Here is a cool site where you get to decide what you would do with the $3Trillion dollars blown on Iraq. Buy health care for everyone perhaps? Or, how about schools? Or maybe a few flak jackets for our soldiers?

It would be funny if it were not so sad.

US military says it has intelligence that al-Qaida is planning suicide attacks in Baghdad - International Herald Tribune

Link: US military says it has intelligence that al-Qaida is planning suicide attacks in Baghdad - International Herald Tribune.

Amazing... I wonder how much this "intelligence" cost us. Telling us that there will be a suicide bombing in Baghdad is like "predicting" the sun will come up tomorrow.

Pick a day and I will "predict" a suicide bombing. i will have a 90% shot of being right. Surge or no surge.

Dick Cheney Speaks Out AGAINST Invading Iraq

Here is a great video showing Dick Cheney in a more lucid moment. Here he describes why we should not invade Iraq. Amazingly, he predicts virtually EXACTLY what happened in this disaster of a war. I wonder what caused him to change his mind. Could it be that when he was President of Haliburton he learned how much money was to be made by invading Iraq? Me thinks so.....

Please do not say 9/11 had anything to do with it. Even Bush and Co have admitted that Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11.

Right Wing Nut McHenry Calls Soldier "Two Bit Security Guard"

Always listen to how people respond when they think they are off camera to get a view into how they really feel. Here Patrick McHenry from NC (A Republican) highlights what he thinks. He calls our soldier "A two bit security guard". This is the contempt the Republicans have for our fighting forces.