Military Near Desperation and 110th Congress Delay
By Marion Edwyn Harrison, Esq. (04/13/07)
Rarely, if ever, since creation of the Department of Defense by the Republican 80th Congress (1947 - 1948) and Democratic President Harry S. Truman, have the Joint Chiefs of Staff written a pleading letter to Congress. This they did on April 2, 2007 - as the Senate was beginning its one week Easter Recess, the House of Representatives beginning its two-week Easter Recess. The letter is signed by all four incumbent four-star members of the Joint Chiefs: General Peter J. Schoomaker, USA; Admiral Michael G. Mullen, USN; General T. Michael Moseley, USAF; General James T. Conway, USMC. (The Commandant of the Coast Guard is not a member of the Joint Chiefs.)
Two rather shocking paragraphs from the letter follow. The message is shocking for one compelling reason. On the precipice of tragedy, only one reason is necessary to shock - namely, that the liberal leadership of the 110th Congress is so untrustworthy that it may not appropriate timely and adequately the funds necessary ". . . to sustain combat operations" or, phrased more personally, to attempt to protect our fellow American men and women who serve in our Armed Services. Clearly now is the time - alas, past the time - for adequate appropriations, unadorned and unencumbered with earmarks and other irrelevancies.
Regardless of one's opinion of the wisdom of our having undertaken warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq or of having done so without an obvious definition of either victory or defeat, Congress has a duty to our military personnel adequately and timely to support them while they risk their lives and health for us.
“With the increasing pace of operations and material needs in Iraq and Afghanistan, we ask that the Congress expeditiously complete its work on the Fiscal Year 2007 Emergency Supplemental. Timely receipt of this funding is critical to military readiness and force generation as we prosecute the war on terror. Given the current status of this legislation, we are particularly concerned that funding could be significantly delayed.
Without approval of the supplemental funds in April, the Armed Services will be forced to take increasingly disruptive measures in order to sustain combat operations. The impacts on readiness and quality of life could be profound. We will have to implement spending restrictions and reprogram billions of dollars. Reprogramming is a short-term, cost-inefficient solution that wastes our limited resources. Spending restrictions will delay and disrupt our flow-on forces as they prepare for war, possibly compromising future readiness and strategic agility. Furthermore, these restrictions increase the burden on service members and their families during this time of war.”
Marion Edwyn Harrison, Esq. is President of, and Counsel to, the Free Congress Foundation
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