Nerve Endings Firing Away

Standing before a set of Broadway proportions, Donald Rumsfeld — officially known as the Secretary of Defense but widely regarded as the master of all press conferences and journalist intimidator was finally stumped. Questioned by a lowly soldier about the lack of armor on tanks that go into Falluja and cheered by other soldiers, Rumsfeld stumbled for an answer effectively saying that there is an army that you wish for but in reality there is an army that you actually have, thereby crushing any morale that was remaining in the killing sands of Iraq. If that wasn’t enough, he compounded the guffaw gaffe by ending his response with these immortal words, “You can put all the armor in the world on a tank and it still can be blown up”. Ok, at least he was truthful but that surely doesn’t seem reassuring to a draf; enlisted army man.

Everyone instantly jumped on the incident and the newslines and late-night shows were buzzing with this controversial exchange. Everyone had a fair idea of the army inadequacies in Iraq but this was the first time, concern was voiced by a foot soldier — the primary stakeholder. Republicans, of course in their indomitable style tried to skirt the issue by highlighting the fact that the soldier was propped up by an antagonistic media journalist. But the fact remains that the question was asked by a soldier AND cheered by hundreds of other armed personnel present. If Republicans are alluding to the fact that all of them were unfairly prejudiced against the Pentagon, then we have a far bigger problem than missing armor.

Troop morale almost always determines the outcome of organized conflict. Lack of hardware as an excuse offered by Rumsfeld doesn’t bode well for the most well-equipped army of the world. No amount of blame being passed on the Democrats who tried to block the $87 billion largesse for Iraqi reconstruction is going to help (the appropriation bill did pass after all). Does it really matter who coaxed the soldier to ask the question, if it is really reflective of the ground realities in Iraq?

The Vietnamization of Iraq is slowly gaining credibility.