Soldiers Defend Body Armor's Performance in Combat

13 July 07
By Debi Dawson
Army News Service.

FORT BELVOIR, Va. - Soldiers are volunteering dramatic personal accounts of lives saved and injuries avoided thanks to the Army's body armor. Their first-hand accounts of what happens demonstrate confidence in what the Army is doing to protect them.

Interceptor Body Armor is a modular system that features an outer tactical vest with hard protective plates. Spc. Gregory T. Miller, 101st Airborne Division, told Congress at a hearing last month that this body armor saved his life while he was on patrol in Kirkuk in preparation for Iraqi elections in December 2005. He was hit in the back by a sniper with what was supposed to be an armor-piercing round. Spc. Miller, who wound up with a bruised back, said he didn't even realize he'd been hit at first.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion, he said. The water bottle he was holding flew out of his hand; he thought his team leader had hit him on the back - hard. When he realized he'd been hit, he checked himself and then turned to return fire.

When the round was pulled from his armor back plate, ballistics tests identified it as a 7.62 armor-piercing round. "I trust my gear," he told the congressional panel. When asked why, he replied matter-of-factly: "It saved my life."

Staff Sgt. Jeremie Oliver of Fort Hood, Texas, has been in Iraq since October 2006, wearing his body armor every single day. "It works very well," he has reported. The husband and father of four children was shot on Father's Day this year.

"We were on patrol securing a site ... a shot rang out and I got hit in the chest. I was in a Bradley, standing up in the hatch, plotting a grid on my GPS. At first I didn't know what had really happened, but then I felt the pain. I sat down, realized what happened, and opened my vest. The bullet had not penetrated the vest, so we continued the mission and went after the enemy."

Sgt. 1st Class Jody Penrod described his combat experience with IBA: "I took a couple of IEDs and some shrapnel, and I had a fire bomb and it didn't light on fire. So I was pretty pleased."

Because the IBA vest protected his entire chest area, Sgt. 1st Class Penrod didn't have so much as a scratch from the shrapnel in the blast. He recounted how insurgents had made Napalm-type bombs with soap so that it would stick to Soldiers while on fire. "I got some on my vest, but it just went right out. So I was kind of happy that the vest didn't go up in flames."

Spc. Jason C. Ashline, an infantryman with Fort Drum, N.Y.'s 10th Mountain Division, survived a round from an AK-47 in Afghanistan in 2002 thanks to his body armor. He stated at the recent dedication of MIT's Institute for Nanotechnologies: "If it weren't for technology I wouldn't be standing here today."

Spc. Ashline was hit twice in the chest during a 12-hour firefight with al-Qaeda insurgents in 2002. The slugs lodged in his body armor. He was stunned but unhurt, and was pulled to safety by his buddies.

Documenting personal accounts of positive body armor experiences is difficult because the Army doesn't keep count of Soldiers not killed or injured. Still, there are more stories like these and Army leaders at all levels recount apocryphal tales by the dozens.

Capt. David Beard, now stationed at Fort Myer, Va., previously served in Iraq. "I remember a guy in Najaf got shot with an AK right in the chest," Beard said, "and his IBA plate saved him!"

Capt. Daniel Leard, also at Fort Myer by way of Iraq, called his body armor "a great protective asset." He said it routinely stop rounds. "In our own unit we had, on several occasions, Soldiers pulling bullets out of their body armor or helmet. It clearly saved their lives."

Brig. Gen. R. Mark Brown, Program Executive Officer, has repeatedly asserted that the Army is providing Soldiers with the best, most protective body armor - bar none. He particularly resents the fact that Soldiers' Families have been misled by conflicting media reports that left them concerned that the Army might not be doing all it can to protect its Soldiers.

"Force protection is the number-one priority of the Army. We value our Soldiers very highly and we do everything we can do to ensure they have the finest in force protection as they go into the battle," Brig. Gen. Brown said. "I want to assure the American public, the Soldiers and their Families that they have the best equipment when and where they need it."

PEO Soldier designs, produces and fields virtually everything the American Soldier wears or carries. The organization's Soldier-as-a-System approach ensures that equipment works in an integrated manner, thus preparing troops for peak performance.

Photo - Staff Sgt. Jeremie Oliver of Fort Hood, Texas, shows where he was shot in the chest with while patrolling in Iraq on Father's Day this year. The bullet did not penetrate the vest. Courtesy photo.

Shrek's Mom's call for Courage

This is an email I received. Without further ado, please read it. It is from Shrek's Mom.

Families United Call to Action - United for a Strong America!

Your Voice needs to be heard today! You've seen the news today. General Petraeus presented to the President his PRELIMINARY Report. The congressional leadership are referring to it as done/final and are again discussing legislation aimed at undermining our Troops while they are in harms way - protecting us! They are discussing bringing them home - before they complete their mission.

They are discussing ways to weaken our country by weakening our military - tying their hands when they've been asked to do a job that they are succeeding at! The surge is finally at it's full strength and some leaders are saying it has failed - without ever giving it a chance to succeed! I don't know about you but this feels like they are aiding the enemy! In fact - this is exactly what the enemy wants!

Is that what you want? Is that the future you want for your children and grandchildren? Is that what your son/daughter/spouse/mom/dad/neighbor fought for? In Iraq ... Afghanistan ... Vietnam ... Korea ... WWII?

I didn't think so. Now - today is the day to do something about it. Please take a few moments today to email or call your congressional leaders and let them know where you stand and that you need them to work and speak out for victory in Iraq, that you expect them to provide the Troops with the funds they need to be successful on the war on terror, and they need to start standing United for a Strong America!

Here's how to start - call your congressional leaders that ARE supporting the Troops and Their Mission and thank them for doing so. Tell them you appreciate it and will continue to support them. Many of these legislators are being hounded by the "anti-war anti-military success" crowd and need our support! Then, pick up the phone and call your legislators that are working against our Troops.

Of course you will just be getting started - then it's time to call your friends who believe the same and urge them to call too!

Please let me know the representatives you have contacted and their response to your message - if any. Please know that you may only get to leave a message with one of the aides, but those messages do get passed on. Email me at Info@FamiliesUnitedMission.com. Provide me with the date of contact, legislator, and response if any.

Here is a list of Senators that the we hope you will contact today. These representatives are wavering and need to hear from you:

• Sam Brownback, Kansas (202) 224-6521 brownback.senate.gov.
• Saxby Chambliss, Georgia (202) 224-3521 chambliss.senate.gov.
• Norm Coleman, Minnesota (202) 224-5641 coleman.senate.gov.
• Susan Collins, Maine (202) 224-2523 collins.senate.gov.
• Elizabeth Dole, North Carolina (202) 224-6342 dole.senate.gov.
• Pete Domenici, New Mexico (202) 224-6621 domenici.senate.gov.
• Lindsey Graham, South Carolina (202) 224-5972 lgraham.senate.gov.
• Mitch McConnell, Kentucky (202) 224-2541 mcconnell.senate.gov.
• John Sununu, New Hampshire (202) 224-2841 sununu.senate.gov.
• John Warner, Virginia (202) 224-2023 warner.senate.gov.
• Lamar Alexander, Tennessee (202) 224-4944 alexander.senate.gov.
• George Voinovich, Ohio (202) 224-3353 voinovich.senate.gov.
• Chuck Grassley, Iowa (202) 224-3744 grassley.senate.gov.
• Richard Lugar, Indiana (202) 224-4814 senator_lugar@lugar.senate.gov.
• Benjamin Nelson, Nebraska (202) 224-6551 bennelson.senate.gov.
• Ken Salazar, Colorado (202) 224-5852 salazar.senate.gov.
• John Rockefeller West Virginia (202) 224-6472 rockefeller.senate.gov.
• Joseph Biden, Jr, Delaware (202) 224-5042 biden.senate.gov.
• Ted Stevens, Alaska (202) 224-3004 stevens.senate.gov.
• Jeff Sessions, Alabama (202) 224-4124 sessions.senate.gov.
• Michael Enzi, Wyoming (202) 224-3424 enzi.senate.gov.

This link will connect you direct to the Senate and House of Representatives membership lists.

Keep Informed - Check these links for facts - Make them a part of your daily newsbrief!

The White House - Presidential Press Conference with Link to the Preliminary Report.
Defend America.Mil.
For The Record - Defense Link.
Iraq Fact Check - Responding to Key Myths.
Heroes in the War on Terror - Defense Link.
Michael Yon On-Line.
The Weekly Standard.
Vets for Freedom.
(And one of favorites, Iraq the Model.

Call Tips

When you call the legislators, a few important things to remember:

Always be courteous. The person answering the phone is likely a young staffer.

If you are calling a Senator/Representative who represents your home state, say "I am from [City, State] and am a (Gold/Blue Star Mom/Dad, Veteran, Patriotic American). I recently returned from Iraq [or insert relevant experience] and I respectfully request to speak with Senator/Representative [name]." When they ask to take a message, say "I'm calling to ask Senator [name] not to support a deadline for withdrawal from Iraq . Because [cite three reasons below]... Please pass along this message to the Senator."

If you are calling a Senator/Representative who is not from your state, say "I am a veteran of the Iraq War [or insert relevant experience] who served with [insert unit] in [insert location] from [insert dates]. I am calling to ask Senator [name] not to support a deadline for withdrawal from Iraq. Because [cite three reasons below]... Please pass along this message to the Senator."

If you are calling a Senator/Representative who is not from your state, please be patient yet persistent. Remember that they are making decisions that affect more than their state - they affect your heroes in harms way from every state!

In the future, we will be asking Families United members to request personal meeting with Senators and Representative both in their home districts and on Capitol Hill, so make sure you get the relevant contact information from the person you're speaking with so you can follow up.

REASONS:

General Petraeus deserves enough time to implement a winning counter-insurgency strategy in Iraq.

Retreat means a failed state in Iraq and a safe haven for Al Qaeda to plan future attacks against America and her allies.

Decisions about Iraq should be made by military commanders and generals on the ground-not politicians in Washington, DC.

My deepest thanks to you for reaching out to our leadership in this way. It is working together and stand United for a Strong America that we honor our heroic men and women serving us in our Armed Forces.


Merrilee Carlson, Chair
Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission
merrilee@familiesunitedmission.com.
Shrek's mom

America - Home of the Free because of the Brave!

I hope many of you will heed her wishes. This is our country and our countrymen who are in danger, whether or not they realize it. These men and women are giving up everything so that we may preserve that which is here at home. What is the sense in fighting if you have no home to come back to after all is said done?

Maysan PRT promoting political, economic and services development

14 May 2007
Spc. Chris Erickson
U.S. Central Command Public Affairs..

Security authority for Maysan province was recently transferred to provincial Iraqi government. The province was the fourth to do this, and marks a milestone of 75 percent of Southeast Iraq as being transferred to provincial Iraqi control. The province had previously been under the authority of the U.K. military.

The Maysan Provincial Reconstruction Team has worked behind the scenes in all this. Not only do they work closely with Maysan officials to create and strengthen transparent and accountable government institutions, but they also advise Iraqis on promoting development in the political and economic areas, and work to help improve essential services.

Julie Nutter, who has been the Maysan PRT team leader since the team’s inception in November, 2006, talked about why the decision to transfer authority in Maysan was made.

"The decision-making process follows several criteria that have to be met before the province goes to Provincial Iraqi Control," she said. "But in Maysan's case, the transition to PIC was really a formal recognition of what the Coalition forces already knew: that the provincial officials were able to provide security for the citizens of the province."

She said while the process was successful, it didn't come without challenges, some that affect all Iraqis and some that are unique to the area.

"Maysan has a long history of having security challenges in the province," Nutter said. "It was also one of the provinces that suffered under Saddam the most. The province has a significant population of marsh Arabs, and for example, when Saddam drained the marshes, he took the livelihood away from a significant portion of the population. We know that three-quarters of the Maysan province was once covered by marshes, and now only a quarter of those marshes remain. "

She explained how that affected the people of the province.

"What happened was, a lot of the ground that was drained was turned into desert," she said. "There's some arable land, but a substantial portion of the marshes that were drained are now desert."

She said a region-wide effort was going on to rehabilitate the marshes, and the last figure she saw for the whole of Iraq listed 48 percent of the marshes having been re-flooded and viable again. That could mean starting to return to the way of life many marsh Arabs knew before Saddam.

"There's agriculture and aquaculture," Nutter said. "Folks grew crops that can be grown in marshy areas, like rice. There's also some fish-farming that goes on in the marshes. And then people used things in the marshes, like reeds, to build structures, build their houses, basically."

A return to normalcy will take more than just giving farmers back their ways and means. Success also requires providing the Iraqi people with the ability to determine which projects are essential for their immediate and long term well being. Don Brown, Iraq Provincial Action Officer for the Maysan PRT, spoke about those challenges.

"The Maysan officials, just like most of the other new provincial government officials around the country, are relatively new to the concept of executing their own budgets," he said. "They've not traditionally had the experience that, for example, we've had in the U.S. of having strong state governments. Provincial officials are now finding their feet on budgetary issues. We're here to provide some technical assistance and help them navigate the new Iraqi central government's process for executing budgets."

Deciding how to use a budget can be a difficult process, especially when it concerns essential services. Nutter explained that while the Iraqis of Maysan province had trouble at the beginning, they were starting to shine in that aspect.

"One of the things Maysan is good at is allocating funds," she said. "They have been able to create the processes to determine what they have to do to get what they need for the province. They'll continue doing this, they're refining the process as they go along, but they have really good technical expertise in the provincial government.

“It's more an issue of uncovering that expertise and directing it, rather than creating it, because in a lot of cases it's there,” she continued. “What we're doing is we're trying to act as a catalyst and take that talent and to apply it toward, in a systematic way, the most important needs of Maysan. That's what I think is one of the biggest successes. We are a catalyst and that is an extremely important role, but this is the Iraqi's future, and they know that.

“They're really excited about that and they're eager to work with us,” she said. “I remember that at a seminar that we had, before the provincial development strategy seminar, one of the Iraqi leaders said to me, 'We would like Maysan province to become a model, for other provinces in Iraq to follow.' That to me, is the most hopeful comment that I've heard since I've been here."

Nutter said the PRT was in place to help provide guidance for the provincial government.

"Since the PRT started in November, we have been working on projects to improve essential services in the province," she said. "We've been working on a hospital to be built in Maysan, water projects to increase the purity of the water, the cleanliness of the water that people are drinking. And, we've been working on road projects that will enable people to get their crops to market to sell them."

Nutter said she was optimistic about the future of the province, and that she wanted to work to provide opportunities for the Iraqis that they didn't have before.

"I hope we'll be able to see a difference," she said. "The biggest difference that I hope for is that the provincial government, which had been very, very involved in the negotiations going toward PIC, especially the governor, will now be able to concentrate more on the provision of essential services for the people of the province. Maysan has some really big challenges in the areas of, for example, sewage disposal, health care, and water and electricity."

Brown said that one obstacle he saw being overcome was the difficulties the Maysanis have faced over the years, being a cross-roads of conflict. "These officials, at the provincial council level, at the governor's office, are stepping into unfamiliar territory, and are doing so with purpose and seriousness. That's something that's gratifying to see. We're at the nascent stages of this growth in capacity, and that's something I really admire most."

It takes more than planning to make a success happen, it takes people willing to make the planning pan out. Brown spoke about how working in a combat zone provides its own set of stresses, and working with this particular mix of people, seeing their accomplishments, was something he was proud of.

"One of the things that stands out for me is the quality of the people I'm working with," he said. "This is really interesting in that we are working with civilians, we're working with military people, in our particular case we spend a lot of time with Coalition partners, and in all of these circumstances, the people we find ourselves working with have all been top-notch."

The Maysan PRT, besides working with the Iraqis, the U.S. and Coalition militaries, draws on the expertise of the Department of State, the Department of Defense, US Agency for International Development, and the Army Corps of Engineers in its work.

"We've had a very close working relationship with these organizations and we couldn't complete our mission without them," said Nutter. "We have had very wonderful help from USAID and the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps of Engineers has helped us to work with the Iraqis, with the provincial government in determining, with economic support fund money, how best they could meet the needs of the province, right now. USAID is more on the training side, so the PRT teams up with USAID and we run things like the development strategy seminar. So they are full partners in the PRT process. We really couldn't do what we are doing right now without them."

Most recently, the PRT started working with the provincial government on a "Base Mapping" project for Al Amarah, the provincial capital, which will provide provincial leaders with digital tools to improve management of city services.

Brown spoke of how the accomplishments in Maysan could only be attributed to the Iraqis.

"In the end, the results will not be achieved by the PRT or U.S. or Coalition activity," he said. "The real results are in the hands of the Iraqis themselves. The Iraqi people are in charge of moving forward, on building the future of their province, at least in the case of Maysan. We, in our team, stand ready to assist, and we're really excited for the opportunities there are in capacity building and developing."

The Maysan team has continued its full range of engagement with provincial officials since the province transferred to Iraqi control, which occured April 18.

Bush Asks for Time, Resources to Allow Success

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2007 – The new security plan for Baghdad needs a chance to succeed, and troops serving in Iraq deserve the resources they need to make sure it does, President Bush said at the Pentagon today.

Bush spoke to reporters following a two-hour meeting with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other defense and military leaders.

The president said he considers it ironic that the Senate unanimously approved Army Gen. David H. Petraeus to serve as commander of Multinational Force Iraq after hearing details of his security plan but isn’t showing a willingness to give that plan a chance to work.

Even before the troop surge is fully implemented to step up security in Baghdad, Bush said, some in Congress are asking when the drawdown can begin.

He noted that three additional U.S. brigades included in the surge have taken up positions and begun operations alongside three additional Iraqi brigades. A fourth U.S. brigade just arrived in Baghdad, and a fifth brigade is slated to arrive in mid-June.

“So it’s going to be another month before all the additional troops that General Petraeus has requested are on the ground and carrying out their missions in Iraq,” Bush said.

Initial indications are that this effort is working, the president said, with coalition troops and Iraqi security forces working side by side to reduce sectarian violence. “With increased presence, there’s increased confidence, and with increased confidence becomes increased information -- information that forces can use to go after extremists to bring down sectarian violence that plagued the capital city,” he said.

Sectarian murders have dropped significantly, he said, although terrorists and insurgents appear to be ratcheting up high-profile attacks. “As we have surged our forces, al Qaeda is responding with their own surge,” Bush said.

He called these attacks “part of a calculated campaign” to shake Iraqi confidence and American will.

Compounding this, Bush said, is that troops are now operating in parts of Iraq where terrorists and militias previously had sanctuary. “As they continue to do so, our commanders have made clear that our troops will face more fighting and increased risks in the weeks and months ahead,” the president said.

Bush praised the U.S. troops serving in harm’s way in Iraq and said they need the resources and flexibility to do the job that’s been asked of them.

He urged quick passage of a new emergency war-spending bill to ensure they’re fully funded and equipped.

The president vetoed a previous $93.4 billion bill because it stipulated that U.S. combat troops be out of Iraq by Aug. 31, 2008. Bush said he rejects establishing a deadline for troop withdrawals and also opposed non-war-related costs included in the bill.

The president insisted that decisions about troop numbers must be based by conditions on the ground, “not based on politics or the latest opinion polls.”

He urged patience to allow time for the Iraq security plan to work and to give Petraeus an opportunity to assess its progress. Petraeus is expected to report his findings to Bush, Pentagon leaders and Congress in September.

“My attitude is, General Petraeus’ plan ought to be given a chance to work, and we need to give the troops under his command the resources they need to prevail,” the president said.

Bush acknowledged that it’s fair to debate issues concerning Iraq, but insisted it’s unfair to put troops in the middle of that debate by holding their funding hostage.

“Whatever your beliefs may be, let’s make sure the troops get funded. Don’t hamstring people in the field,” he said. “Time’s running out because the longer we wait (to get an approved funding bill), the more strain we’re going to put on the military.”

The consequences of failing in Iraq would be devastating not just to Iraq and the region, but also to the United States, he said

It would send a dangerous signal to terrorists, enabling them to increase their influence around the world. Even more concerning, Bush said, is that it would embolden al Qaeda to launch another deadly attack against the United States.

That recognition changes the stakes and the importance of the debate taking place in Washington about the war, Bush said.

Debating only about how fast to withdraw troops doesn’t get to the heart of the issue, he said. “The debate ought to be what do we need to do to make sure that we not only don’t fail, but succeed,” he said. “It’s vital we succeed.”

Fallon: Radical Islamic Leader’s Aims Remain a Puzzle

By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2007 – The intentions of radical Islamic cleric Muqtada al-Sadr largely remain cloudy amid the shifting sands of power politics in the new Iraq, the commander of U.S. Central Command testified at a Congressional hearing today.

“This is a guy that’s pretty difficult to understand for us,” Navy Adm. William J. Fallon told House Armed Services Committee members. “He holds, clearly, a large amount of influence within segments of the Iraqi population, but of late he has been absent.”

Sadr is a Baghdad-based Shiite religious leader who commands the Mahdi Army militia, which has fought U.S. and Iraqi troops on many occasions.

The fiery cleric advocates an immediate withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iraq. But, he has mostly disappeared from public view since the mid-February start of the surge of U.S. and Iraqi forces into Baghdad and parts of western Iraq, Fallon noted.

“By all accounts he appears to be in Iran,” Fallon commented on reports of Sadr’s whereabouts. Yet, the cleric’s “particularly nasty” militia members, he said, remain a nuisance to U.S. and coalition troops in the Baghdad area.

News reports attribute the recent resignation of six Sadr loyalists in the Iraqi Cabinet as a stunt arranged by the cleric to protest the lack of a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said yesterday during a visit to Amman, Jordan, that the cabinet resignations may prove to be advantageous to the Iraqi government. The secretary acknowledged that Sadr’s motives are unclear at this point and remain, for now, “a mystery.”

Fallon said not one of Sadr’s many public proclamations issued since the fall of Saddam Hussein’s regime have been helpful to the coalition or the new Iraqi government.

Yet, Sadr’s militia hasn’t tried to stop the movement of U.S. and Iraqi security forces into Baghdad as the surge continues, the admiral noted.

However, the cleric’s followers “are attacking our forces sporadically,” Fallon said. There is currently no indication of a Mahdi Army-staged mass uprising against U.S. troops, he added.

Fallon told the House committee that most Iraqi citizens are weary of sectarian strife and bloodshed and are likely not interested in Sadr’s overtures for continued violence. It’s therefore important, he said, that Iraqi leaders publicly denounce the extremists at every opportunity.

The admiral took over as CENTCOM’s commander March 16. Since then, he told the committee, he’s traveled to Iraq, Afghanistan and other Middle Eastern countries that come under his command’s purview.

After discussions with key U.S. and Iraqi military and civilian leaders and sifting through reams of data, Fallon said he sees significant signs of a reduction in the number of murders and other kinds of sectarian violence in Iraq.

Bush: Troops’ Hard Work in Iraq Will Impact the World

By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service.

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2007 - The hard work U.S. troops are doing in Iraq is “laying the foundations of peace for generations to come,” President Bush told soldiers and family members today at Fort Irwin, Calif. “The work that you have volunteered to do will have a lasting impact on the world in which we live,” the president told the troops.

By helping Iraq become a country that can sustain, defend and govern itself -- and become an ally in the war on terror -- the U.S. military will have delivered a significant blow to those who want to harm the American people, he said.

“The amazing thing about our United States military is that thousands and thousands of you have signed up knowing full well that we’re a nation at war,” he said. “You decided to put your country ahead of self in many ways.”

Bush said he’s proud to be the commander-in-chief of such decent, honorable and noble people. He noted that it gives him great confidence to know that “standing with the president of the United States is a fantastic military, well-trained, courageous and dedicated to protecting this country.”

He also thanked the families and said he understands the troop rotations are difficult and deployments create anxiety. “You are an integral part of making sure this volunteer army is as successful as it is today,” he told the family members.

The president said the troops are facing a “tough war” and the American people are weary of it. But in his judgment, leaving before the job was done would make the United States at risk to further attack.

Bush noted that his new plan for military operations in Iraq involves sending in more troops and naming a new commander, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, an expert on counter-insurgency. Bush said about half of the reinforcements expected to go to Baghdad have arrived, and the security situation is improving.

American and Iraqi troops are on the move, Bush said, rounding up both Sunni and Shiite extremists and going after Al Qaeda. They’re destroying car bomb factories, killing and capturing hundreds of insurgents, and reclaiming neighborhoods.

“There is progress,” he said, “but the enemy sees that progress and they’re responding in a brutal way,” For example, Bush said extremists used two children to drive into a crowded area, and then they got out and blew up the car with the children inside.

“It only hardens my resolve to help free Iraq from a society in which people can do that to children, and it makes me realize the nature of the enemy that we face, which hardens my resolve to protect the American people,” Bush said.

What’s happening in Iraq is not a civil war, he stressed, “It is pure evil and I believe we have an obligation to protect ourselves from that evil.”

The president said the Iraqi government is doing its part and is meeting its obligations. They’ve committed additional troops to Baghdad, named a Baghdad commander, and manned checkpoints. They’ve also committed $10 billion for reconstruction.

While the United States wants the Iraqi government to succeed, the president said he warned Iraqi officials that U.S. patience is not unlimited.

“It’s in the interest of the United States that this young democracy succeed,” Bush said. “It’s in our interest that we gain a new ally in the war on terror in the midst of a part of the world that produced 19 kids that came and killed 3,000 of our citizens.”

Bush noted that Congress has passed legislation that would impose an artificial deadline from Iraq. He said Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker have warned that delaying the funds past mid-April will have significant consequences for the armed forces.

When Congress returns from spring break, Bush said he will “urge Congress to work on legislation to fund the troops, but that does not tell the military how to conduct war and sets an artificial timetable for withdrawal.”

“The enemy does not measure the conflict in Iraq in terms of timetables,” he said. “They plan to fight us and we’ve got to fight them alongside the Iraqis. A strategy that encourages its enemies to wait us out is dangerous. It’s dangerous for our troops. It’s dangerous for our country’s security, and it’s not going to become the law.”

Acknowledging the Congress members’ patriotism, Bush said he understands people have passionate points of views about this war. “Yet we cannot allow honest differences in Washington to harm our troops in battle or their families here at home,” he said.

“Members of Congress have sent their message now they need to send me a war spending measure that I can sign into law so we can provide our troops and their families with the funds and support that they deserve and they need,” he concluded.

Delay in war funds will hurt Military readiness, morale Says Bush

.

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2007 - Further congressional delay in forwarding an appropriate emergency war spending bill to the White House will damage military readiness and morale as well as endanger the nation, President Bush told reporters today at a White House news conference.

“Congress’s failure to fund our troops on the front lines will mean that some of our military families could wait longer for their loved ones to return from the front lines, and others could see their loved ones headed back to the war sooner than they need to,” Bush said.

That scenario is “unacceptable,” Bush said, noting he believes the American people would agree with him.

“Members of Congress say they support the troops. Now they need to show that support in deed, as well as in word,” Bush said. Congressional debate over the conduct of the war against terrorism “shouldn’t come at the expense of funding our troops,” the president said.

The Senate and the House of Representatives have both passed emergency war supplemental funding bills providing funding for U.S. troops, but the money is contingent on troops being withdrawn from Iraq according to a set timetable. Each chamber’s bill also contains unrelated domestic spending.

The president sent his recommended military spending bill to Congress almost 60 days ago. Bush has rejected the recent Senate and House legislation out of hand, saying he’d veto any military funding bill with set timetables for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Bush said he’d just received an update on the U.S. troop reinforcement, or surge, to Iraq from Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Two of the five additional Army brigades involved in the surge are now operating in Baghdad, Bush noted, with another now making its way into Iraq from Kuwait.

“And the remaining two brigades will deploy in April and in May,” the president said. It’ll be early June, he said, before all five brigades and other U.S. reinforcements are in place in Iraq.

The U.S. Army brigades already in Baghdad are having a positive effect on reducing violence there, Bush said.

“And as more of those reinforcements arrive in the months ahead, their impact will continue to grow,” the president said.

The current House and Senate war spending bills “undercut the troops by substituting the judgment of politicians in Washington for the judgment of our commanders in the ground, setting an arbitrary withdrawal from Iraq, and spending billions of dollars on ‘pork barrel’ projects completely unrelated to the war,” Bush said.

If Congress fails to forward the White House a favorable war spending bill for presidential signature by mid-April, then, “the Army will be forced to consider cutting back on equipment, equipment repair, and quality of life initiatives for our Guard and Reserve forces,” Bush said.

Bush said those cuts would become necessary, “because the money would have to be shifted to support the troops on the front lines.” The Army also would have to consider cutting training for stateside-assigned Guard and Reserve units, he said.

That scenario would negatively affect unit readiness and might delay the affected units’ availability for missions in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bush said.

Additionally, if Congress doesn’t pass and forward a favorable war spending bill by mid-May, then potential problems would become more acute, the president said. The Army would be forced to consider slowing or freezing funding for its equipment-repair depots, Bush said, or delay training of some active-duty forces for overseas deployment.

“If this happens, some of the forces now deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq may need to be extended because other units are not ready to take their places,” Bush explained. “The Army may also have to delay the formation of new brigade combat teams.”

Bush then read from a letter to Congress written by Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, who informed legislators of the impending funding crisis for his service: “‘Without approval of the supplemental funds in April, we will be forced to take increasingly draconian measures which will impact Army readiness and impose hardships on our soldiers and their families.’”

A shortage of funds, Bush explained, would cause some stateside-based Army units to be unavailable for mobilization to Iraq and Afghanistan to replace units set for rotation back to their home bases.

The president acknowledged that some Americans are concerned about U.S. policy on Iraq, but he emphasized that failure to defeat terrorism there would doom the fledgling Iraqi democracy and endanger U.S. citizens.

American military forces serving in Iraq are providing its young government “breathing room” so that it can eventually defend and sustain itself against its enemies, Bush said.

If U.S. troops leave Iraq too early, it could become a “caldron of chaos, which would embolden” the Sunni, Shiite and other extremists who are now trying to tear the country apart, Bush said. Terrorists could then use Iraq as a safe haven, he pointed out, from which to launch new attacks against America.

Bush said his primary presidential task is to protect the American people.

“And, I firmly believe that if we were to leave (Iraq) before the job is done, the enemy would follow us here,” the president said.

Photo: President George W. Bush discusses the emergency supplemental bill with the press Tuesday, April 3, 2007, in the Rose Garden. White House photo by Eric Draper.