From CBSNEWS:
"Spc. Thomas Wilson had asked Rumsfeld, "Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles?" Shouts of approval and applause arose from other soldiers who had assembled in an aircraft hangar to see Rumsfeld.
Rumsfeld hesitated and asked Wilson to repeat his question.
"We do not have proper armored vehicles to carry with us north," Wilson, 31, of Nashville, Tenn., concluded after asking again.
"You go to war with the Army you have," Rumsfeld replied, "not the Army you might want or wish to have."
Asked on Thursday about that exchange, the defense secretary said he believed the session in general was "very fine, warm (and) enjoyable." As for Wilson's statement, Rumsfeld said it could be constructive.
"I don't know what the facts are, but somebody is certainly going to sit down with him and find out what he knows that they may not know," Rumsfeld said."
Is it just me, or is it obvious Rummy is giving this soldier's question the big brush off?
'Find out what he knows that they may not know"? Yikes. I'd be afraid if I were Thomas Wilson. The last time Rummy sat someone down to find out what they knew and he didn't was when he authorized the torture of whatever arab-looking guy the FBI could find walking around.
We knew about the armor situation for months. John Kerry cited it in his speeches. What doesn't Rummy know? Does he honestly expect anyone to believe that he was in the dark about this situation?
"You go to war with the army you have, not the army you want to have"? That's great Rummy, but the guy was talking about armored vehicles, not soldiers. Wilson, and his fellow soldiers are the army you have-- they deserve some freakin humvees that can at least sustain the impact of a well thrown rock.
My uncle owns a scrap metal yard. I'm sure in the spirit of patriotism, he would donate some to our troops. Certainly it's better quality stuff than the GI's are finding in Iraqi dumpsters.
It boggles the mind that our soldiers, at this stage in the game, with all the money that has been spent, with all the mistakes that have been made, are still without the most basic necessities. Meanwhile, the war doesn't exactly show any signs of ending. January elections are no sure bet, and with over 150 political parties vying for the presidency, we could be in for an election mess that rivals Ukraine 2004 and Florida 2000. If you think the Sunni insurgents are mad now, wait until some Shiite gets elected-- then it'll really hit the fan.
And yet, Rummy and friends continue to smile, run us into deeper and deeper debt, and say everything is hunky dory.
Someone has to sit down with Rummy and find out what he knows that we may not know.