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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: unclewest who wrote (50850)	6/19/2004 5:34:53 PM
From: Ish	Respond to of 793914

Hi Mike, Had coffee with my friend who got back from Iraq because of a double hernia. He was there to train the police and was all over the country. When he was in the Kurds territory he could walk the streets day or night in safety and all were friendly. He had to wear a sidearm because EVERYBODY wore a sidearm.Food was good up there too. He traveled in a convoy with a striker in the front and rear with 3 armored Suburbans in the middle. All the Suburbans had 30mm chain guns for the just in case and had transponders that would set off the cell phone bombs before they got close to them. New trick, dig a hole in the pavement, place a bomb with a trigger wire and patch the hole. Striker clears the wire but the Suburban doesn't and boom. The one he hit lifted the front wheels off the ground and damaged the radiator but they were able to drive back and get another Suburban. He wanted to get some pictures but they traveled at 70 mph and no slowing down. You should be happy to know the troops are getting good food. When he could get to a place where Haliburton was feeding the troops the food was good. When they stayed at the Baghdad hotel and other hotels, the food was prepared by Indians in the food service. Made them sick everytime. The Indians weren't good on hygiene. Same with Iraqi's on veggies. If it wasn't Americans serving the food only eat meat and bread. Saddam dumped so many weapons and chemicals in the Tigris that it's not safe for boat traffic or to eat the fish from the river. That's another big project that's being shot at. Bill

To: unclewest who wrote (50850)	6/19/2004 5:43:12 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793914

Top Army chief says war on terror here forever WASHINGTON - What we have today is not your father's Army and that's a good thing, because we are living in what Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker calls ''the most dangerous time in my memory,'' and his memory as Army brat and as Army officer goes back half a century and more. ''Our past wars were like having pneumonia - you may end up with some scarring in your lungs but you survived,'' Schoomaker told a Defense Writers Group breakfast. ''This one (the Global War on Terror) is like cancer. It is never, ever going to go away. It is huge. We face a very challenging future.'' Schoomaker, a veteran of many years' service in Special Forces and the super-secret Delta Force who was brought out of retirement to run the Army, said: ''This war cannot be won militarily. The gun will not win this one. This is a clash of ideas, an information war.'' The general is a first-class rodeo cowboy roper and the first chief in history to install a metal roping bull behind the chief's official residence, Quarters One at Fort Myer, Va. He carries a lariat in his pickup and hums along with his favorite country singers, Chris LeDoux and George Strait. He said Army culture is ''very strong'' and the service is filled with thoughtful people. ''The Cold War - we got that right,'' he said. ''But 9-11 changed a lot of things.'' He said that unlike the fairly predictable Soviet-era forces, today's enemies swiftly adapt their tactics and techniques to focus on American vulnerabilities. Asked if the Army and the U.S. military were really suited for war in Iraq, Schoomaker said: ''We are getting more suited by the day. We are learning as we go and this experience is going to be very valuable to the Army in the future. We are advancing the checkers, just not as pretty as we would like.'' Schoomaker resists those in Congress who say the Army has too few soldiers to fight the war in Iraq and want to increase Army strength permanently by 30,000 to 60,000 soldiers. He said it costs the Army $3.6 billion per year for 10,000 soldiers just in personnel costs and training. He said the Army was authorized a temporary increase of 30,000 soldiers through 2007 and he believes this, along with strong efforts to free up soldiers tied down guarding and supporting bases and doing other jobs that could be given over to civilians, should be enough. ''Congress can only fund us one year at a time, but they can encumber us forever,'' Schoomaker said. His fear is that Congress will force a large increase in Army strength and then, down the road, fail to budget the money for them. That would force the Army to raid its research and development and operations and maintenance budgets for the money to pay for soldiers - and begin hollowing out the Army. He said between the active Army and the Army National Guard and Reserves the United States has more than a million soldiers in uniform. Schoomaker wants to see more of them pulling triggers or driving tanks and Bradleys and doing warrior work, not the kind of jobs any civilian could do. The Army chief said his decision to cancel the $14.6 billion Comanche helicopter program took away the money that would have eventually fielded 121 helicopters based on a 27-year-old design. That money will now buy total rebuilds and upgrades of 1,000 existing Army Blackhawk, Apache and Chinook helicopters. Plus it will buy 800 new helicopters for the Army National Guard. Schoomaker's idea of transforming the Army focuses on building the active Army from 33 brigades at present to between 43 and 48 lighter, more capable and more lethal brigades or ''units of action.'' The Army National Guard, which the chief says contains the structure of 36 brigades but not enough people to fill them, will end up with 34 fully resourced, equally capable brigades. ''With that Army, which we think we can build in the footprint of our present strength, we would be able to continue the current level of engagement and employment indefinitely,'' Schoomaker said. ''We have over 1 million in uniform. We just need to use them more effectively.'' Pete Schoomaker hopes to get the job done and look back on Washington in his rear-view mirror, humming along while George Strait croons ''Amarillo by Morning.'' Joseph L. Galloway is the senior military correspondent for Knight Ridder Newspapers. Readers may write to him at: Knight Ridder Washington Bureau, 700 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045. His column appears most Fridays. © 2004 American News and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. aberdeennews.com