Rumsfeld's Answer

"You go to war with the army you have, not the one you want."

That was Donald Rumsfeld's answer to a soldier who questioned the U.S. lack of armored HumVees in Iraq. My response to Sec. Rumsfeld would be this--

How long have we been at war? Almost two years? Is that not enough time to increase the production of armored personnel transports? Is that not enough time to ship them overseas? Is that not enough time to make certain that our troops have what is needed for them to complete the mission that your administration sent them to conduct?

It is one thing to say that we must GO to war with the army that we have, but it is another issue entirely to say that we cannot improve that army DURING war. Of course, what Rumsfeld, or President Bush, will not want to say is that it is not an issue of time that has stopped us from producing better armored vehicles, nor is it an issue of time that has prevented us from shipping better transportation to Iraq. The issue that limits the US's ability to conduct this war is one of MONEY. Thanks to Mr. Bush's two tax cuts (one DURING this war), and the lack of improvement in our economy, our government (in particular, the Dept of Defense) does not have the necessary funds to conduct a full-scale war and provide our troops with the proper equipment to get the job done. At one point in this war, our soldiers were even running low on ammunition.

A nation might GO to war with the army it has, but it had better make damn sure that it comes out of the war with the army it needs. The only way to accomplish that is through money, time, and effort on the part of the government and its people. The only problem in this case is that we need leaders who are willing to say and do the RIGHT things to make that happen and not to just follow ideological goals to unjustified ends.