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mburbank · #1

"For eight years, Clinton and Gore have extended our military commitments while depleting our military power. Rarely has so much been demanded of our armed forces and so little given to them in return.

George W. Bush and I are going to change that too. I have seen our military -- I have seen our military at its finest, with the best equipment, the best training and the best leadership.

I am proud of them. I have had the responsibility for their well-being. And I can promise them now, help is on the way.

Soon our men and women in uniform will once again have a commander-in-chief they can respect ... a commander-in-chief who understands their mission and restores their morale."

Dick Cheney, accepting the VP nomination

" A breakdown of the casualty figures suggests that many US deaths and wounds in Iraq simply did not need to occur. According to an unofficial study by a defense consultant that is now circulating through the Army, of a total of 789 Coalition deaths as of April 15 (686 of them Americans), 142 were killed by land mines or improvised explosive devices, while 48 others died in rocket-propelled-grenade attacks. Almost all those soldiers were killed while in unprotected vehicles, which means that perhaps one in four of those killed in combat in Iraq might be alive if they had had stronger armor around them, the study suggested. Thousands more who were unprotected have suffered grievous wounds, such as the loss of limbs."
Current Newseek

Disclosure: This argument is from the Nation and not original to me, but Jesus H. Christ. 78 BILLION and they couldn't spend it on Humvee and body armor? I guess protecting fungible resource like people is a waste of money.